Mobile Suit Gundam: Symphony of the Dragon
by Ironbird53
Summary: Rated M for sexual content. Once upon a time, a child fell to Earth. Destined to squander his potential, the boy comes across a Ragna-Mail. The boy, unlike the people who'd raised him, was a simple human. Finding nothing better to do, the boy, without knowing it, changed his destiny. This is the tale of the Melody Gundam, and how it changed the world.
1. The Endless Song

**This was an idea I had in my head while watching Cross Ange. I finally decided to draft it after reading a few Gundam/Cross Ange stories as well. Although, this idea was too good to pass up.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam or Cross Ange.**

**Warning: This chapter contains sexual content, please be advised. If you still wish to continue, you have been warned.**

**Once upon a time, a child fell from the sky.**

**The child had come to the arms of the one who would raise him inside a Ragna-Mail. The child was human, and destined to be used for reproductive study as he came of age. But his fate would change as he discovered his potential.**

**This was the story of how that boy had changed his own destiny.**

**This was the story of the Melody Gundam, and it's song that warped time and space.**

* * *

_Earth, 16 years ago..._

It was a wonderful evening.

Anita stood upon a balcony, stargazing.

She'd nothing else to spend her time upon. It was unfortunate, as she'd become bored with how dull her life was. Life was so quiet. There weren't any men around often. Although Anita was of age, she'd yet to have any children.

She just didn't have any appeal.

Anita then saw a bright, burning star shooting across the sky.

"I wish I could have a child," She murmured to herself, her eyes tracing the shooting star.

She longed to have something to occupy her time. Raising a child would do nicely for her. Other People of Aura had children, so why not Anita? It just wasn't fair. The only thing she could do was pray that wishing upon a star would pay off.

A glance back at the star then made her think twice.

The wasn't shooting across the sky, and it was slowly getting bigger in her vision.

It was almost too late that Anita realized the the "star" was heading in her general direction. There was no way she'd get away in time, and she was too paralyzed by fear to scream or run.

However, without warning, the fallen star suddenly made a sharp turn, completely missing Anita, and continued on its course.

Anita's ears with filled with an all-encompassing boom, and the object crashed nearby.

As soon as Anita recovered, she turned around and attempted to search for the falling object. Thankfully, she didn't have to search far, as a massive trail of smoke puffed higher and higher into the sky, marking the crash site.

She could feel the heat radiating from the crash site, but was far too lost in curiosity to turn back. What further drew her in was a faint voice, singing the Endless Song. She called out in search of the singer, but no-one answered. Instead, the song carried on.

After a bit, the song had stopped.

Anita slowed down as she reached the crater, and gasped.

What she found wasn't what she expected.

It was a Ragna-Mail.

The infamous Ranga-Mails were common knowledge, but actually seeing one was rather a rare spectacle to behold.

It was white, with blue plating over its torso, and red accents. It had two golden antennae jutting from its head. It was slightly bigger and had more armor plating than any Ragna-Mail she'd ever seen. In one hand, there was a blade-like club. In the other, there rested a rifle.

But what caused it to fall from the sky? How'd it get there in the first place?

Further stranger, the Ragna-Mail seemed untouched, despite the crash. It sat lazily on its back, its head facing down. Suddenly, the strange robot's chest hissed and popped, sliding open and revealing the cockpit.

It felt as though it was daring Anita to come inside.

Anita eventually worked up the courage to climb up into the cockpit, and once again found another surprise.

Inside the cockpit lay an infant, wrapped up in cloth.

The baby was crying, for reasons Anita didn't know.

How did this child get there? There was no way this baby could pilot the mech it sat inside, so what happened? There were simply too many questions to come up with, but there wasn't a single answer to show.

But this situation did provide an opportunity...

Anita reached into the cockpit, and lifted the child out and into her arms.

"Ssh..." She tried to whisper, awkwardly rocking the baby in her arms.

It wasn't official at that moment...

...But her wish had been granted.

* * *

"You claim this infant was sitting inside?"

"Yes, High Priestess."

Anita knelt before the High Priestess, quickly returning with her findings after being picked up by a search team. She feared that the baby she'd discovered would be confiscated, and she'd never see it again.

"And you're absolutely certain this machine you found is as you described it?"

"Of course."

After a long period of having the child processed and analyzed, the doctors had turned up interesting results.

"High Priestess," Reported one doctor, "It's...It's a human boy!"

"Impossible."

"The results show that he's a human baby boy! This is exciting! We have a live subject for sexual studies!"

Anita flinched as she heard those very words.

The child she found wasn't going to be hers, but he'd be used for sexual studies instead? But there was so much more potential for the baby, so why demean him to only that? It just wasn't fair to him.

The High Priestess took note of Anita's disappointment.

"Are you willing to raise this child?"

Anita ceased her grovelling, and look up to the High Priestess.

"Seeing as you're the one who'd discovered this child, I see that it's only fair to let you raise him."

"Really?"

"But do not misunderstand," Cautioned the High Priestess, "Although this infant is under your care, there will be a commission in place to monitor the child's growth. Seeing as the baby's come from places unknown, it'd be wise to gather data upon him. Do you accept?"

"O-Of course!" Anita declared, "I'll do whatever it takes to raise the baby!"

"I see."

Anita felt her heart lighten with joy.

She finally had a baby.

The baby was placed in her arms once more. Thankfully, he'd finally stopped bawling, and was currently sleeping soundly in her arms. Anita was in pure bliss as she cradled the boy.

"I think I'll name you...Leo."

The High Priestess sighed.

It was touching to watch Anita take her first steps as a mother, but she had far more pressing concerns on her hands. The search team had eventually managed to recover the Ragna-Mail in question.

If it was as Anita described it...

...There'd be no telling of what it'd bring.

* * *

_16 years later..._

"Leo!" Called Anita, "It's time to get up!"

Anita awaited to hear the sounds of a creaking bed, but found none. She worked to prepare breakfast in the kitchen of her house. And for the most part, she'd been happy for the past 16 years.

She'd raised a son as her own, and her life finally had meaning.

There was struggle at times, and it got harder as time went on. But Anita did her best to raise the boy that had been placed in her arms.

However...

"Leo!" Anita called once more.

There was still no response.

"That boy..." Anita growled under her breath, as she began to march across the house.

The bedrooms were on the side of the house opposite of the kitchen, meaning Leo had a few more moments of peace before Anita would come down upon him.

Anita burst open the door to Leo's room.

"Leo!"

Leo was laying peacefully asleep in his bed. With the sudden crash Anita made from busting open his door, Leo was rudely awakened, and fell out of bed as a result.

"Ow!"

"We go through this every morning!"

Leo groaned as he got off the floor.

"But Mom!" He whined, "It's such a pain to wake up every morning!"

"You have a busy day!"

"I always have a busy day!"

"That's because you're special!"

Leo grumbled incoherently.

"Now hurry up," Advised Anita, "Breakfast will be ready soon, and you're not fast enough you won't get any!"

Leo grumbled even more as Anita left the room.

Back before he turned 16, every day seemed like a new adventure for Leo, as he had freedom of movement wherever he wanted. The only consequence being that he'd be chased down and scolded if he were to wander too far away.

Every day, ever since he'd turned 16, which had been for a few months, had been the same for him.

Wake up, eat breakfast, go down to the local medical center for trials and testing, go home, and wait for an opportunity to go and play with his friends. He was very popular amongst his peers, and most of his peers were girls. On top of that, he wasn't like the rest.

Whereas everyone around him had wings and tails, he didn't.

Leo asked questions, but couldn't make perfect sense of the answers he received.

In a matter of minutes, Leo got dressed and exited his room.

Leo sat down at the table as Anita placed a plate with food in front of him.

"Thanks Mom." Leo said quickly, before digging in.

Anita knew what was on Leo's mind.

"Y'know," Revealed Anita, "I've heard that Princess Salamandinay will be returning today."

Leo quickly perked up.

Anita chuckled.

Ever since they were young, the Princess and Leo were great friends, and spent a great deal of time together. Sala, as Leo affectionately called her, enjoyed Leo's company out of curiosity for Leo's differences.

They were around the same age, as Salamandinay had been born a few days after Anita received Leo.

However, as they grew older, Sala had been going out more and more and Leo was confined more and more. This in turn made Leo more eager for when he'd next meet Sala, excited for her tales of the world beyond the confines of home.

"You'd better eat quickly," Anita reminded, "They'll want you at your best when you arrive today."

Leo groaned.

"Yes Mom..."

Leo had something of a position in society.

He also knew that what he did had weight with the People of Aura, despite how simplistic his task was.

That task being to offer up his body for their analysis of a human male.

* * *

_Several hours later..._

"Keep up the pace, Leo!"

Leo made a whine in acknowledgement.

He stroked himself as fast as he could.

The day after he'd turned 16, he'd come to the research center each and every day, and subject himself to all manner of tests. Most of the tests were physical, such as weight lifting and the like.

However, a notable highlight of the tests was none other than ejaculation.

It just felt so strange, as everyone watched him so intently while he touched himself, completely naked.

Leo could feel his erect rod clench, and he'd ejaculated once again.

"Good work!" The doctor observing him complimented.

"Mm." Leo grunted, panting heavily.

Leo's cheeks felt quite heated, and were stuck in a bright red hue.

It felt so wrong to masturbate, but so good at the same time.

"Now," Instructed the doctor, "Lie down on the table."

Leo slowly did as told, and felt his cock begin to grow stiff again as he saw more and more doctors gather around him.

The issue wasn't that Leo didn't understand what he was doing, it was that all the doctors around him were all women, and very, very attractive. As much as he tried, he couldn't control himself when he was surrounded in this manner.

What would happen next was that one doctor would begin to jerk him off.

As much as the previous test, Leo jerking himself off, having another person do it for him was simply too much. He'd always squirm a bit at this point, since the feeling of another person jerking him off made him even more hazy than doing it himself.

Everyone acted so nice to him, which made it even more embarrassing.

Anita knew full well what was happening each and every day Leo went to be examined, but she reluctantly allowed it.

Leo's penis twitched again, and ejaculated.

"Oh my!"

"Oh! It's everywhere!"

"Quick! Grab something to clean it all up!"

"He's very great at giving us samples!"

"Good work today, Leo."

Leo panted.

He felt so sore and tired...

One doctor rested a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jolt in surprise a bit.

"You're free to go for today," She said, "There's a shower waiting for you, go on and clean up."

"Y-Yes Ma'am."

Leo blushed once again, embarrassed.

It took Leo a bit of effort to get off the examination table and get into the showers, both out of anxiety and exhaustion. His legs felt weak after ejaculating and exercising so much. This was the result of each and every day of the week for Leo.

Leo scrubbed the sweat off his body in silence as the steaming hot shower cascaded down his body.

He longed for the days he and Sala could waste their time with frivolous pursuits.

He understood the responsibility they both had, but that didn't stop him from longing for the opportunity to have fun and journey. Sometimes it felt as though all the time spent learning about the world around him was an even bigger waste than the messes he'd make by cumming over and over again.

Eventually, Leo found the will to turn off the shower, dry himself off, and retrieve his clothes to get dressed.

After an exchange in goodbyes, Leo left the medical center.

What was he to do now?

Salamandinay had most likely returned by now. However, he'd probably be a big nuisance if he barged in so soon. After all, Sala had just returned from another long trip beyond the city, and was most likely to desire rest after returning.

Leo walked further and further outdoors, contemplating the issue.

He didn't notice something streaking through the sky overhead.

He could feel the air behind him shift very quickly, and turned around too late.

The next thing he knew, a pair of arms wrapped around him, and snatched him up off the ground.

"W-Woah!"

"Gotcha!" A young girl's voice chuckled.

Leo blinked as he realized who'd grabbed him.

"S-Sala?!"

"That's right!" Sala affirmed, "I've missed you so much, Leo! I was expecting you waiting for me when I'd returned, and you weren't."

Leo then realized Salamandinay was carrying him higher and higher, implying that she'd drop him for not greeting her when she returned.

"You weren't there..." Salamandinay's voice deepened, "You said you would've been the first one to greet me when I returned, no? That's a broken promise Leo, I'm so ashamed, I would've embarrassed myself if I got careless."

"I-I'm sorry!" Pleaded Leo, his cheeks turning red, "It's just...You know!"

Salamandinay knew very well about Leo's daily examinations.

"I do." Salamandinay concluded, "I just wanted to see that adorable blush of yours~!"

Salamandinay flapped her wings, and descended carefully down in front of the temple. When the pair finally set their feet firmly on the ground, Salamandinay released Leo from her embrace from behind, and quickly pulled him into a hug from the front.

"I've missed you..." Sala whispered.

Leo soon hugged back.

It was times like these where Leo noticed Sala as a woman more than a friend.

She was well-endowed, as Leo felt her bosom bounce as it pressed against him. Her skin was soft, with her gentle and affectionate touch as she wrapped her arms around him. She was simply so pretty.

Leo felt his heart beat faster as she was very close to him.

"I've being waiting for this," Sala said, letting go of Leo, "Come with me, I have something to show you."

Salamandinay rushed past Leo, and Leo did his best to keep up with her as she guided him off.

After a great deal of time spent running about, Salamandinay led Leo over to a production facility. She quickly ushered Leo inside, and began to guide him even further into the building.

"What is this place?" Leo said.

"One of our engineering development centers." Answered Salamandinay.

"What did you want to show me?"

"You'll see."

After a few minutes spent going from one door to another, Salamandinay and Leo finally reached their destination.

"Take a look." Said Salamandinay, gesturing to what towered in front of her.

Leo looked up, and gawked in awe.

It was none other than a giant robot.

It was mainly red, with a black chestplate. It had two large antennae on its head, a blue visor, with a silver ornament and a tail hanging on the back of the head. It had four black wings, and golden components under the armor plating.

Leo was awestruck.

"What is it?"

"It's a Ryuu-Shin-Ki." Declared Salamandinay, "Specifically, it's mine."

"Really?"

"It's name is Enryugo."

Leo stared at the machine that towered above him in awe.

"Looks...Familiar." Leo muttered.

"Really? It's something new...How does it look familiar?"

"I don't know. It feels like I've seen something like it before."

"Peculiar..." Said Sala, "A-Anyway..."

Leo looked to Sala, noticing that she was beginning to blush.

"...W-Would...Would you like to try piloting it?"

"Huh? ME?!" Leo cried, realizing what Sala was asking him.

"Of course," Sala offered, "I'd love to teach you to pilot it-only if you want to! I-I wouldn't want to force you to get in Enryugo or anything..."

"You mean it? Can I?"

"Of course!"

Leo smiled, only to have his smile turn to a look of confusion.

"Wait," He said, eyeing Enryugo, "How am I supposed to pilot that thing?"

Salamandinay smiled.

"I'll show you."

Salamandinay carried Leo in her arms, and flew him up to the Ryuu-Shin-Ki's chest. Enryugo's chest hissed and slid open, revealing the cockpit. Salamandinay carefully lowered Leo into the cockpit, and watched him slowly sit down.

"Okay," Said Leo, as he sat awkwardly in the control seat, "What do I do now?"

"Grab the controls!"

Leo hesitantly grabbed the two handles in front of him, deducing they were the controls.

"Also!" Called Sala, "There should be pedals for your feet in there!"

"Oh, found them!"

Leo placed his feet on the pedals, and breathed.

"Okay, what now?"

"There should be some buttons on the controls! Try pressing them!"

Leo's fingers found the buttons in question, and tapped them.

Enryugo suddenly came to life around Leo, and began to move freely.

"Holy-?! Uh...Am I doing it?!"

"Yeah! That's perfect! You're doing fine!"

Leo was growing anxious as he felt the cockpit shift with Enryugo's movements.

"Sala? C-Can I...Can I stop now?"

"Is something wrong?"

"This feels kinda nerve-wracking!"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Salamandinay apologized, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!"

"I-It's fine!"

Leo played with the controls more and more.

"Wait! I think I got it!"

Enryugo raised its foot, and took a step forward. Leo shifted with the pedals, and Enryugo began to march forward as a result. In doing so, Leo began to ease his nerves, and finally felt comfortable in the massive machine.

"That's wonderful!" Sala complimented, "Okay, you can get out now! I'll put it back for you!"

"Yeah!"

Leo climbed out of the cockpit, and slowly made his way down the Ryuu-Shin-Ki, letting himself sigh with relief as he touched the ground.

"That was kinda scary!"

"I bet it was! But you did wonderfully!" Salamandinay cheered as she flew up into the cockpit.

In the span of 30 seconds, Salamandinay piloted Enryugo back into its original position, as though it'd never moved at all.

All the while, Leo heard something.

A strange, yet familiar feminine voice. He heard that voice before, along with that very melody.

_Hajimari no hikari kilari kirari..._

_Owari no hikari lulala rira..._

"Sala," Called Leo, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

_Kaesan el ragna sunadokei wo..._

_Toki wa afuren lulala rira..._

Leo didn't answer, as he was listening to the song.

"What is that melody?" He muttered to himself.

_Ikuoku amata no inochi no honou..._

_Surui ochite wa hoshi ni..._

The sound was faint, but loud enough for Leo to determine where it was coming from. Salamandinay climbed out of the cockpit, only to find Leo beginning to walk towards the exit, entranced by something.

_Nagare nagarete wa utsukushiku..._

_Mata seitoshi no yurikago de yawaku awadatsu..._

"Where are you going?" Called Salamandinay.

After a few moments, Salamandinay began to hear the song as well.

_Utae utae ima futatsu no negai wa..._

_Tsuyoku tsuyoku ten no onjiki to kirameku..._

_Towa wo kataran..._

"The Eternal Story..." She said to herself.

Leo exited the room, and began to roam the hallway. He listened intently, each turn he took brought him closer and closer to the song. Whoever was singing was was getting closer and closer nearby.

_Terase yo el ragna urei zenbu..._

_Kururi kururi to lalala rira..._

Salamandinay eventually caught up, and joined Leo in the search. After a minute of walking from one hallway to another, the pair came across a room. The song was louder than ever before, and the singer must've been in that room.

The song stopped, and all was quiet.

The pair entered, but were stunned.

Instead of finding a woman singing...

...The found what appeared to be a Ryuu-Shin-Ki.

It had two golden, hornlike antennae. The mech was mainly white, with a blue chestplate and red accents. Unlike Enryugo's visor, the Ryuu-Shin-Ki had a pair of eyes instead. The machine was also noticeably bigger than Enryugo, and had more armor plating.

"What is that? Another Ryuu-Shin-Ki?" Gasped Leo.

"I...Don't know. I've never seen it before..." Mumbled Salamandinay.

The pair stared at the Ryuu-Shin-Ki, neither knowing what it actually was.

"We should go..." Muttered Leo, "If we're caught back here, we might get in trouble..."

"Perhaps you're right..." Sighed Salamandinay, "But it's just so interesting..."

The pair turned away, and began to exit the room.

Leo took one last backward look at the machine.

_"Am I going crazy?"_ He thought, _"Or is that thing looking at me?"_

Leo slowly turned away, and left the room.

Sala and Leo began to sneak away from the area...

...Only to find patrol guards shouting at them from behind.

"Hey! You two!" Called the guards, "What're you doing back here? This area's off-limits!"

Leo felt his heart skip a beat.

Anita was going to be furious with him.

* * *

_One escort later..._

"Do you two understand how much trouble you're in?" Scolded the High Priestess.

"Yes Ma'am." Leo and Sala said in unison, their faces aimed at the floor in shame.

"Leo," Said the High Priestess, "As unique and special as you are, you're under the same jurisdiction as the People of Aura. We know that you attempted to pilot the Enryugo. You all of should know better than to tamper with something so important. You're not to put yourself at risk, understand?"

"I understand."

"Princess Salamandinay," The High Priestess continued, "Your situation is quite the same. Although your status as princess may give you entitlements, your actions regarding this debacle are inexcusable and unbecoming of royalty."

"I apologize."

"Now that we've gotten through that part," Inquired the High Priestess, "Which one of you is responsible for your foolishness?"

Leo opened his mouth to speak.

It was his fault for messing around with the Enryugo. It was also reasonable to say it was his fault they ventured deeper into the complex to find the other mech. It'd make sense for him to take the blame.

Salamandinay was a princess, and would be under great pressure if she took the fall for this incident. Even if this was her idea, if she were to take the blame, it'd be much harder on her, as much more was expected of her.

Leo almost spoke up.

"I-"

"It was my fault." Blurted out Salamandinay, "I was the one who brought Leo here. I pushed him out of his comfort zone and made him pilot Enryugo. If it wasn't for me, Leo would've been nowhere near the Ryuu-Shin-Ki."

Leo looked to Salamandinay, knowing that he'd only complicate things if he spoke up now.

"I see." Said the High Priestess, "So, not only was this entire incident your idea, but you're also responsible for pressuring Leo into the situation as well?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Your honesty is commendable." Said the High Priestess, "However, I'm not so easily fooled. I suspect that Leo too has some of the blame to share."

A flinch on Salamandinay's part was more than enough proof.

"B-But he-?!"

"Y-Yes Ma'am." Leo broke, "I'm the one who went deeper and deeper into the facility. If it wasn't for me, Salamandinay wouldn't have been caught sneaking around the restricted area with me."

"And what compelled you to venture further? Had you quit when you had the chance, you might've gotten away with this escapade."

"I heard someone singing."

"Did you find who?"

"No Ma'am...I didn't find anything."

"I see." Sighed the High Priestess, "Very well then. Leo, I'll have you sent back to Anita. I'd expect your mother will have more to say than I, and would be more than willing to discipline you. Princess Salamandinay, you're to remain here until I can find a fitting punishment for your role in this incident."

"We understand." Leo and Sala said in unison.

Leo left the room, and Salamandinay was left looking at him as he departed.

Leo was escorted home by a small group, and forced to listen as the group told Anita of all the events that had transpired. Leo faced the ground, not wanting to see Anita's facial reaction to the tales of his exploits.

The escort finally left, and Anita stared down at Leo in silence.

"What were you thinking?!" Snapped Anita, "Do you have a single clue how dangerous that could've been? You're lucky things ended this way, you could've hurt yourself messing with that thing!"

"I know..."

"You know the rules! You're not supposed to purposefully put yourself in harm's way! Being pressured into messing with military equipment or not, this was completely irresponsible of you! What were you thinking?"

Leo thought upon the question.

What he was thinking of while piloting Enryugo? In truth, he wasn't thinking of piloting at all. What his mind had been so fixated upon was Salamandinay. She was quite happy when Leo tried to pilot Enryugo, and it sent Leo's heart aflutter just thinking about it.

But it was far too embarrassing to admit.

"I...Don't know." Leo mumbled.

Instead of further scolding Leo, Anita suddenly pulled the boy into a tight hug.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack just now," Anita began to sob, "Rules or no, I won't abide by you, the boy I've raised, throwing away your life so recklessly! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you!"

Anita began to bawl with Leo in her arms.

Leo sighed, and wrapped his arms around Anita.

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

As much as Leo was genuinely sorry for making Anita worry, his thoughts were beginning to circulate around that mysterious white Ryuu-Shin-Ki. That strange machine felt so familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen it before.

As much as he didn't want to hurt Anita's feelings...

...He just couldn't resist the thought of pursuing that strange mystery.

That song...That machine...

Leo had the vaguest nostalgia.

But all he knew was doubt.

* * *

**A/N: Hiya! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter to Gundam Symphony: Warped Melody! Please be advised: This is my first attempt at writing a story with sexual content, so it might be a bit awkward.**

**Anyway, let's talk about Leo and Anita!**

**Anita is a DRAGON, age 36. She has long, curly hair, green eyes, and a height of 5'5. She wears a blue tunic with a yellow skirt.**

**Anita feels a devotion to place Leo's needs over most else. She takes pride in being his adopted mother, and always does her best to help Leo when he needs it. However, there are some things that Anita isn't able to teach Leo.**

**Leo is a human boy, age 16. He has shaggy, dirty-blonde hair, golden eyes, with a height of 5'7. He currently wears a pair of faded yellow monk pants, and a brown tunic.**

**Despite being surrounded by women all throughout his upbringing, Leo is easily flustered by sensual situations. Leo is particularly shy around Salamandinay, as he's most attracted to her.**

**And now, time for the biggest one yet! The Melody Gundam!**

**The Melody Gundam stands at 9.7 Meters, with a weight of 5 Metric Tons.**

**Not much is known about the Melody Gundam's origins. However, after it was recovered along with Leo, the People of Aura reverse-engineered the Melody Gundam, and began to develop the Ryuu-Shin-Ki with their findings.**

**The Melody Gundam's design was heavily based upon the Gundam Barbatos Lupus from _Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans_.**

**I'll give the specs another time, for the sake of preventing spoilers.**

**Next Time: The White Devil.**

**Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!**

**Here's to hoping this story is successful! PM or review anything you want to share or ask.**


	2. The White Devil rides again

**Although this is gonna be a bit tricky for me, I'm gonna do my best!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam, or Cross Ange.**

**After Leo's discovery of the strange Mobile Weapon, he simply can't get it out of his mind. Despite every warning and order to forget what he'd seen, he can't help but be drawn to the machine.**

**And so, once again, he attempts to get another look at the mech.**

**He'd soon come to regret his desire to do so.**

* * *

Leo tossed and turned in his bed, but couldn't fall asleep.

It was all because of that strange machine...He just couldn't stop thinking about it.

It seemed all too familiar...But he couldn't remember seeing it before. And that song...He'd heard it somewhere before as well, but couldn't recall where or when. And the more Leo thought about it, the more he wanted to go back and find out.

But doing so would mean he'd have to break the rules, intentionally.

And if he were to get caught...

Leo pushed his luck when he and Sala were caught before. He wasn't expecting any leniency if he were to get caught this time.

What would Salamandinay do?

Knowing her so well, Leo knew she'd do one of two things.

She'd either let her curiosity get the best of her, and try to sneak into that restricted area once again to satisfy her intrigue. However, Leo also knew that Salamandinay would try to act responsible and never do the sort of thing again.

Alas, Leo wasn't Salamandinay, and couldn't decide.

Leo rolled over once more.

So much had come from something so little, it was just nerve-wracking.

A day had passed since his encounter, and the image was still fresh in his mind.

Why did going into a restricted area seem so...Thrilling?

It was wrong for him to go someplace he wasn't supposed to, and yet that simply give him the urge to do it more. He'd been confined so greatly as he grew older...Was that perhaps why he felt so okay with sneaking into the development facility with Salamandinay?

He didn't feel completely guilty for getting caught.

Although he dared not to admit it, it felt quite good to go beyond the boundaries that were set for him.

What if he did it again?

The idea of sneaking out again was seductive to Leo, he couldn't push it out.

Leo decided he'd sneak out again.

It was only a matter of time.

* * *

Leo struggled with pull-ups.

Normally, he'd had done twice his current number of pull-ups. However, due to not sleeping at all the night before, he'd almost arrived late, missed breakfast, and woke up late. His muscles felt so fragile compared to other days.

His arms gave out twice during push-ups, and the rest of the time was spent with him slowly completing one push-up after another. Each push-up took him 20 seconds of his arms trembling under his own weight.

"Is everything okay, Leo?" Inquired the doctor.

"M'fine," Yawned Leo, "Why?"

"You're uncharacteristically sluggish today," Explained the doctor, "Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Mm." Leo yawned, blinking slowly.

The doctor sighed.

"I thought we'd made sure that you would get perfect rest every night," She muttered, "Did something happen?"

"Not much." Leo mumbled, "I just couldn't sleep."

"I see." Said the doctor, not knowing any better, "I'll let you have a small nap before the next examination, then."

The doctor guided Leo to a bench and let him lay upon it.

Leo yawned once again, and the doctor fetched him a small pillow and a blanket.

"Ssh..." She whispered, "Just go to sleep..."

Leo's eyes fell shut soon after, and he drifted to sleep.

The doctor sighed.

"This isn't good," She muttered to herself, "We came up with an entire plan...So what happened? Was there some foreign factor we didn't account for? It had to be something overnight, or yesterday, at the very least."

The thought finally came to her.

"Of course!" She realized, "Leo got in trouble with the High Priestess for getting caught in a restricted area of the engineering facility yesterday, perhaps it's still on his mind...But why?"

What could Leo have possibly encountered that would've kept him up all night?

The doctor would never understand.

* * *

_The World of Mana..._

Angelise looked up to the sky.

It was a bright, sunny day.

However, instead of riding a horse down upon the ground of her family's estate, she watched the sky eagerly from the balcony of her chamber. Ever since she was little, she'd done this very activity ever since she was 5.

Today was a special holiday.

"Angelise-Sama?" Called Momoka, "Sky-gazing again?"

"Of course, Momoka!" Angelise piped up joyfully, "It's the one day every year I get to see it!"

Momoka chuckled.

Today was the anniversary of the Misurugi Empire's achievement of utopia.

And that was all thanks to...

"Look!" Angelise shouted, pointing to the sky, "There it is!"

...The Gundam Archangel.

Angelise's eyes widened with a youthful glee as soon as it came into her vision.

The Gundam Archangel was a true-blue Gundam Mobile Suit. Unlike the Misurugi Empire's military might, consisting of Para-Mails, Mobile Armors, and Mobile Workers, Mobile Suits were simply the basis that paved way for both.

One Mobile Suit frame that stood out amongst the rest was none other than the Gundam Frame.

Revered worldwide for the sheer power a single Frame had, the Gundam was by far the rarest and most sought-out Mobile Suit in existence. The Gundam's power not only resided within the Frame's unique power source, but its use of the famed material, Gundarium. To other Mobile Suits of lesser caliber, the Gundam was simply omnipotent, and couldn't even be scratched.

It was in the history books that there was a war that used almost nothing but Gundams.

But that was an era long past.

In the last major conflict in the world, Gundam Frames were simply too scarce, leaving fighters to make do with regular Mobile Suits. It became known as the Mobile War. And the war ended just a mere matter of days before Angelise was born.

One would wonder how she wasn't born into the war, as it seemed so deadlocked and unending. However, the Misurugi Empire had found a Gundam, and ended the war entirely, doing so all on its own.

It became known worldwide as the iconic Gundam Archangel, the bastion that heralded an age of peace and prosperity.

After the Mobile War ended, the Misurugi Empire reformatted the Gundam Archangel into the first Para-Mail.

However, Angelise couldn't have cared less about the Gundam Archangel's worldwide achievements, and could only recall what it had done for her.

When Angelise was simply 5 years old, a sudden fire broke out in a shopping center, and Angelise had been trapped. She was surrounded by sweltering fires, and she wouldn't last much longer.

If she didn't burn, she'd suffocate.

She began to cry hysterically.

However, she looked to the sky...

...And from the heavens, descended the Gundam Archangel.

With the flap of its wings, gusts of wind smothered the fires around Angelise with concussive force. In mere moments, the Gundam carried Angelise in its arms, and flew her to safety as the fire returned.

That was the very moment she felt the Gundam's power to dispel the fear and fly.

And to this day, she became an avid fan of the Gundam Archangel.

It looked just as cool as when she first laid eyes upon it.

Julio, who stood in the garden, looked up as the Gundam Archangel flew overhead, casting a shadow of the prince. Julio gave a grin as he gazed upon the Gundam. However, his grin soured as he took notice of Angelise's puppy-like face as she marveled at the Archangel.

Part of him wished the Archangel didn't save her that tragic day.

"It's...Beautiful." Angelise whispered.

"You say that each time you see the Gundam." Giggled Momoka.

"Because it's true!" Declared Angelise, "Even though I know there's someone sitting inside, it feels like the Gundam itself is alive! Like a champion in shining armor! I'd wager the Gundam alone would've been enough to end any conflict in the world!"

"It's only one machine," Muttered Momoka, "It can't do _everything_..."

Angelise didn't hear Momoka, as she'd once again been entranced by the sight of the Gundam Archangel.

"Princess," Reminded Momoka, "We'd best hurry, you'll be late for the parade through the city if we dawdle here too long. Don't fret, you can witness the Gundam Archangel up close at the festival."

"I know," Answered Angelise, "But I can't possibly wait that long! Not when the Archangel is flying right over us!"

Momoka chuckled.

"Light of Mana." Chanted the maid.

Miraculously, a pair of elegant shoes were enveloped in a green light, and began to levitate towards Momoka.

Angelise went to her closet, and selected a dress to wear for the occasion.

Momoka quickly had Angelise dressed and presentable.

* * *

The street was simply congested with citizens, all eager to get a look at the festival parade.

Angelise, despite her wishes to be amongst the citizens on the ground, was to watch from a private room looking down at the streets. However, she would rather have been in the streets, to be as close to the Archangel as possible.

Angelise sat at the balcony, pouting.

Julio chuckled.

"Come now, Angelise," He teased, "Surely you wouldn't want to be swarmed within a crowd? From up here, you can look over, and still see the Archangel."

"But it'd be far more thrilling to be at its feet." Grumbled Angelise.

"I just don't see why you're so smitten with a machine, rather than a suitor." Julio continued, "The only part of it you should rationally be affectionate for is the pilot, and they change pilots each year!"

"It's the very machine that saved my life," Angelise answered, "It's as though is resonates with me..."

"Will it resonate with me, Onee-Sama?" Innocently asked Sylvia.

"I hope so!" Affectionately answered Angelise.

Unbeknownst to Sylvia and Angelise, Julio made a subtle look of disgust at Angelise as she turned her back to him. However, his siblings didn't notice, as he'd quickly discarded the look in favor of a smile seconds before Angelise turned back around.

"Look!" Angelise pointed down towards the street, "It's here!"

Sylvia moved her wheelchair over to the balcony, and allowed Angelise to lift her up so she could see over the side and witness the source of Angelise's joy. Sylvia's eyes lit up along with Angelise's as she gazed upon the Gundam Archangel.

The Gundam Archangel marched down the street, waving to everyone left and right like a celebrity.

Julio eyed Angelise with disgust as the crown princess and Sylvia watched the Archangel look up and wave to them.

"It's waved to us!" Swooned Angelise.

Sylvia squealed with delight, and waved back to the massive machine.

She was simply awestruck at the sight of the standalone Gundam that brought world peace. It was simply unfathomable for Sylvia to imagine that a single machine fought and ended a war all on its own.

Julio scoffed.

"If I'm to speak freely," He declared, "I don't believe praising a simply Mobile Suit is worthwhile. After all, the Mobile War has ended quite some time ago. Sure, the Archangel might've been instrumental to the war's ending, but there's simply no reason for spending resources to maintain it in such a peaceful time. If it were me, I'd send the machine somewhere where it has a function that's greater than looking pretty."

"Are you implying that there's conflict to be had?" Questioned Angelise, "But why? The Archangel's existence alone is a key role to the peace in society."

"Hmph!" Julio retorted, "I simply don't agree. Although, it seems I've spoiled the fun, let's shelve this and continue on our day. It's a festival, after all. If I'm certain, you'll be crowned queen soon, wouldn't want to ruin your freedom from state-work while it lasts."

Angelise and Sylvia turned back to watch the Archangel march by, Julio continued to glare down Angelise's back without her notice. Her coronation at the Baptism Ritual was close at hand, and fast approaching.

All Julio would have to do was wait until that pretender to the throne got what she deserved.

It was only a matter of time.

* * *

Leo finished his exams, and left the medical center.

He'd met with Salamandinay on his way home.

Currently, Salamandinay had carried him through the air as they went to talk in private. Their search for a space they could deem isolated went on for a few minutes, until they finally settled on a rooftop of a tavern.

"You're awfully quiet today," Broke Sala, "Still hung up about yesterday?"

"Mm." Leo grunted.

"I guess whatever that Ryuu-Shin-Ki we saw was probably just some high-end machine for another pilot." Suggested Sala.

"I saw it before." Leo said.

"Hm?"

"I don't remember where or when," Leo rephrased, "But I know I saw that specific machine somewhere before, and that song...I just don't know."

"Listen," Cooed Sala, "It's probably nothing. Perhaps it just wasn't safe to be around at the time, might not have been finished."

"Looked finished to me..."

"Either way," Sighed Sala, "I don't think it's a good idea we do that ever again."

"Huh?!"

"You're someone I care about," Said Sala, "It's my fault you were there in the first place. Sure, you might've wandered off on your own, but it's my fault that either of us got caught messing around with military equipment. You could've hurt yourself in Enryugo, and it was too late that I figured that much out."

Leo didn't say anything.

However, he did learn something at that moment.

He finally knew what Salamandinay would do.

The issue was whether or not he'd do the same.

"I know this isn't something either of us like," Sala continued, "But...We're not kids anymore. We both have a lot of responsibilities to carry. We can't just go ahead and play around anymore, things are getting too serious for us to act like nothing's changed."

Sala looked around them cautiously, as though to make sure no-one was watching.

The princess took a deep breath. Should she really say it now? Was it the right time for her to confess her feelings to Leo? This was something absolutely important, and Sala had no working model of what to say or do.

"But..." Sala's face turned a slightly red hue, "Would...Um..."

Leo gave her a quizzical look.

"Would it be alright if I told you something tomorrow?" Sala's face flushed red.

"Why not now?" Leo asked, unaware of Sala's implication.

"It's just..." Sala mumbled nervously, "It's just not something I feel like saying right now...I promise! I'll tell you tomorrow...It's something important."

Leo nodded.

Sala sighed. As much as she wanted to shout it aloud to Leo, she was far too anxious to work up the courage to say the very words.

With that, Salamandinay flew Leo all the way home.

The rest of the day came and passed, and soon enough, night fell upon the city.

Anita washed the dinner dishes, and was deep in thought.

Leo had been very out of order that day, no doubt still reflecting on whatever he'd seen in the engineering facility. Day after day, Anita was worried about if the doctors at the medical center would get out of hand with their studies on Leo. She simply couldn't handle if Leo was to be put out onto the battlefield.

The thought of the boy she raised being thrown into the fray, a simple, normal human, no less...

She'd spent 16 years to raise Leo, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if he were to meet his end before she did.

Leo had already gone to bed.

Despite the face he'd already taken a nap earlier that day, and how he was as energetic as usual upon his return home, Anita thought Leo would've gone to bed sometime later. Perhaps he'd finally taken heed of the doctors' orders, and started acting responsibly.

Perhaps he'd finally taken his first steps into growing from boyhood to manhood.

However...

...One couldn't be too careful.

Anita began to tiptoe across the house, and lurked her way over to Leo's room. She shut off the lights in the hallway, and quickly laid her hand on the doorknob to Leo's room, and began to turn the knob slowly.

She looked inside, and smiled as she saw Leo's tunic in the moonlight of the window.

Anita closed the door, and prepared to go to bed herself.

However, had Anita turned on the lights, and looked again, she would've noticed that Leo wasn't wearing the tunic in bed. But rather, he'd left the tunic, and stuffed his bed with all of his clothes in such a manner that it looked like someone was sleeping there.

Leo was already long gone from the house.

Currently, he was running down the nighttime streets with nothing but his pants. Leo ran towards the engineering facility, and ignored the chilly air. He wasn't Salamandinay, and he couldn't just forget what he'd seen.

If he wanted to move on, he needed closure.

* * *

Leo looked carefully around each and every corner.

There was bound to be more security in response to the last time he'd been caught.

As soon as Leo set foot into the facility, he could feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. It was addicting to Leo, as it was his first genuine adrenaline rush since he could remember.

This entire situation...Defying authority, sneaking into places he wasn't supposed to be in, defying everything and doing something he himself had done of his own accord...It was simply thrilling.

Having tasted freedom, Leo began to find he wanted a bigger taste.

Leo went from door to door, hall to hall, corridor to corridor, until he finally came to the drydock for the Enryugo.

Leo stared up at the machine, and look into its eyes.

He waited.

The boy couldn't recall where that mysterious Ryuu-Shin-Ki was, but he knew of a method of locating it. The Ryuu-Shin-Ki called him to its location once before, and it was possible that it'd do so again.

Leo simply sat down and waited.

He had no means of measuring the time, and was unable to tell how long he'd been sitting there. Perhaps he sat there all night, maybe he sat for a few seconds. Whatever the case, after what felt like an eternity of sitting, Leo was growing a little impatient.

Why couldn't he hear that song?

Leo could hear footsteps fast approaching.

He began to panic.

Did they figure out he was here?

Leo did the only thing he could think of, and ran behind Enryugo to hide.

A barrage of footsteps clamored beyond the door of the room.

"What's going on?" Called one guard.

"There's been evidence of a security breach!" Answered another guard, "We're to report in an monitor the area of the breach! The Ryuu-Shin-Ki units will be locked down soon by the princess's Royal Guard! She'll be here soon!"

"Understood!"

The guards ran off, and Leo sat behind Enryugo.

Although it appeared the guards didn't find him quite yet, but they would very soon.

He began to feel scared.

He'd defied literally everyone in authority over him. He'd been caught messing with the machines before, and Salamandinay couldn't help take the fall with Leo if he was caught this time. Furthermore, Salamandinay would be furious with him if she found out he'd tried to find that Ryuu-Shin-Ki again.

Was it really worth defying orders?

Perhaps freedom wasn't as thrilling to Leo as he first thought.

As soon as Leo felt the doubt creeping in, he heard it.

_Hajimari no hikari kilari karari..._

As soon as the notes fell upon Leo's ears, he'd forgotten his worries.

That song...

He'd finally found it.

All he had to do now was to follow the song.

Leo wandered aimlessly through the halls, purposely losing himself. If he wanted to find the Ryuu-Shin-Ki, he needed to put all of his faith into the song that guided him to it the first time.

However, he was still afraid that he'd be caught in the open.

And yet, oddly enough, Leo continued walking down the corridors, but there was no-one in sight. If they were on alert, wouldn't it be normal to be guarding the Mobile Weapons? Where did everyone go?

Leo eventually followed the music to its source.

However, something unexpected happened as Leo reached his destination.

Instead of laying eyes upon a towering Ryuu-Shin-Ki in Destroyer Mode...

...He found that it sat before him, in Aerial Mode.

Did someone do something? When did the Ryuu-Shin-Ki change modes?

What was the machine's name anyway?

As Leo neared the machine, the cockpit suddenly hissed, and slid open.

It was as though the machine itself was tempting Leo to climb inside.

If Leo didn't know any better, he'd have thought the Ryuu-Shin-Ki had a mind of its own. Leo held his breath, and began to slowly climb into the Ryuu-Shin-Ki's cockpit, not knowing any better.

It was similar to Enryugo's cockpit. However, unlike Enryugo's panoramic monitor, this machine had several screens stacked together in a 180-degree view. Leo sat in the cockpit seat, only to find it was also a bit different from Enryugo's. Unlike Enryugo's seating, this Ryuu-Shin-Ki's seat felt more adjustable. Currently, it was configured like a saddle or mount.

"What's your name?" Leo whispered to himself.

Suddenly, the Ryuu-Shin-Ki began to sing once again. It sang softly, and Leo could feel the acoustics all around him. Leo didn't know the name of the song, but it felt eerily familiar to his ears.

"You're the one who was singing this melody..." Leo whispered, "Oh! That's what I'll call you, Melody!"

The cockpit was still open.

"Quick! This way!"

Leo snapped out of his daze, and began to hear footsteps.

"Lock down the Gundam at all costs!"

Leo blinked in confusion.

The _what_?

The footsteps were getting louder.

Leo began to panic.

They were heading right for him.

Last time, he was caught being in proximity of the machine.

Were he to get caught actually attempting to interact with it...

Leo didn't want to think of what would would happen.

If Leo could go back, he would.

But he couldn't.

The footsteps grew nearer, and nearer.

Leo wished he was anywhere but there.

Anywhere at all.

Suddenly, the cockpit closed, much to Leo's surprise.

"Huh?"

A sphere of energy began to condense around the Ryuu-Shin-Ki.

"W-What's-"

The machine began to respond, all on its own!

"-Going on?!"

The screens in the cockpit came to life.

And suddenly, the energy sphere around the Ryuu-Shin-Ki dissipated, and the machine was no longer there.

Leo didn't understand it then...

...But he'd just set in motion a series of events that would change two worlds.

* * *

_The World of Mana..._

Tusk sat in his cabin.

There wasn't much to do that Tusk hadn't done already. He'd done the daily chores, put his next meal on the stove, removed any pests nearby, and once again, there wasn't much else to do.

It began to feel as though he was living for the sake of simply living rather than doing something with that life.

What would either of his parents do?

Ever since his parents passed, Tusk had lived a lonely life on the island.

He understood everyone had their time, but it still hurt that his parents left him so early on, and that they'd not conceived another child after him. He was the last of his kind, making it a lot more stressful upon him.

Sure, surviving all by oneself was impressive, but what was the point when there was no-one to share that accomplishment with?

Day-to-day, Tusk struggled with this very conundrum. And day-after-day, he found some reason to keep going as things were.

He kept forgetting what it was that kept him going, but it was certainly something.

Tusk walked outside the cabin, bored and growing impatient.

"Sometimes I wish I had a friend." Grumbled Tusk, "Sibling would've been fine...But that ain't happening now..."

Tusk sighed as he fell back and sat down.

He really needed to go and find some entertainment.

But it wasn't long before entertainment found Tusk instead.

Without warning, a blue energy sphere began to form in the sky above Tusk's island.

Tusk looked up, and noticed.

"What the-?!"

Suddenly, a jet-like aircraft slipped out of the energy sphere, and plummeted right in his direction. The sphere dissipated just as abruptly as it appeared, much to Tusk's confusion and dismay.

"Holy-!"

Tusk scampered and sloppily lunged away from the machine's trajectory, and was sent flying as it crashed into the beach, kicking up a massive explosion of sand as it collided with the ground.

Tusk hacked and coughed as sand swarmed him.

"The hell was that?!"

Tusk waved his hands about, brushing the sand and dust still floating in the air.

His eyes widened as he laid eyes upon it.

It was a Para-Mail, currently in Aerial Mode.

"How'd that get here?!" Tusk croaked.

The machine's cockpit suddenly hissed, and the cockpit slid open.

Much to Tusk's surprise, a boy was sitting in the cockpit seat. The boy had shaggy hair and looked a little bit like Tusk's haircut. The boy was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of monk pants.

"What's a kid doing in that thing?!"

The young boy groaned, and clumsily fell out of the cockpit.

"H-Hey!" Cried Tusk, unsure of how to approach the situation, "A-Are you okay?!"

The boy groaned, and slowly got up.

As soon as the boy brushed his pants off, he finally took notice of Tusk's presence.

The two stared into each other's eyes, processing what they were looking at.

The two screamed, and the unknown boy spun around and booked it. In doing so, he'd kicked up more sand into Tusk's face. The shirtless boy ran and dove behind the Mobile Weapon's cockpit.

Tusk ended up falling on his rear, stunned by the sudden move.

The other boy poked his head out from his cover, only to quickly bring it back down.

Tusk brushed the sand from his face, and got up.

"H-Hey," Tusk communicated, "Slow down, will you?"

The boy refused to come out.

"Listen," Reasoned Tusk, "I ain't gonna do anything, I promise."

The boy slowly and reluctantly came out of hiding, only to gaze upon Tusk like he was something of an awe-inspiring statue.

"You're..." The boy spoke up in awe, "Like me."

Tusk chuckled.

"I guess I am!"

Tusk then realized the boy was quickly studying Tusk like a specimen in an examination. Whereas before, the boy was obviously unnerved and anxious. But now, it appeared the boy's curiosity outmatched his fear.

"What..." Tusk inquired, "Are you doing?"

"You don't have wings, or a tail." Observed the boy.

"No...Why would I?" Asked Tusk.

"Who _are_ you?" Said the boy.

"I'm Tusk...Just Tusk." Introduced Tusk, "And you?"

"I'm...Leo." The boy responded.

"Nice to meet you, Leo!" Welcomed Tusk, before pointing to the Para-Mail, "By the way, what's that you were riding?"

"That's Melody," Said Leo, "It's a Ryuu-Shin-Ki."

"A what?"

"A Ryuu-Shin-Ki." Repeated Leo, "I...Dunno how to explain it, that's its name though."

"I see..."

"Wait." Said Leo, "Where are we?"

"We're on my island-"

"Stop-stop-stop." Said Leo.

"What?"

"We're on a _island_?"

"Yeah..."

"As in, 'the middle of nowhere?'"

"Y-Yeah?"

Leo's eyes widened.

"AAUGH!" Leo screamed in panic.

"What's wrong?" Asked Tusk.

"I'm in for it now!" Cried Leo.

"In for what?"

"I...Um...Stole Melody..." Confessed Leo.

"You did what?!"

"I didn't mean to! It's just..." Leo tried to find the words to explain, "I was trying to hide in the cockpit...And Melody suddenly turned itself on...Next thing I knew, I was falling, and here I am."

"Why were you hiding?"

"I...Went somewhere I wasn't supposed to...And um...I don't know what happened."

"Ah..."

"This is bad! I'm really gonna get it when I come back!" Leo cried.

Tusk began to think.

"Hey," Offered Tusk, "If you don't wanna go back, you can stay with me."

"Huh?"

"Yeah! It'll be nice to have another person living here...It's been lonely."

"Ah...You...Mean it?"

"'Course I do! To sweeten the deal, I can teach you to pilot Melody!"

"You can?!"

"Yeah, Para-Mail scrap washes up here all the time...Guess I just picked up the habit and studied 'em."

"Para-Mail?"

"You were piloting it...Why'd you call it a Ryuu-Shin-Ki? Looks like a Para-Mail to me."

"I don't know...All I know is, it brought me here."

"In that case," Said Tusk, "You can stay here as long as you need to if you wanna go home. It's nice to have some real company, for a change. Lunch is almost ready, now that I think about it."

"Oh."

Leo didn't realize it then, but he'd just transported to another world entirely.

Tusk was just like him, a boy with no wings or tail. It was rare, exceptionally rare that Leo ever saw another male. It made Leo quite curious, as he'd no experience with males outside of himself.

Perhaps it was that curiosity that clouded Leo's caution.

It was at that moment Leo began to forget the world he'd left behind.

The moment he changed his destiny.

* * *

**A/N: Done! I decided to give the Cross Ange canon a massive headache to create more lore. In this story, Gundam-themed stuff is far more common that just simple easter-eggs.**

**The Gundam Archangel was subjected to a lot of redesigns and tweaks, and it was only something I came up with after writing the start of chapter 2. It was too perfect to pass up too. It also underwent several name-changes, due to so many Gundams being named things like Seraphim, and Liberty. Thankfully, nobody took Archangel yet.**

**Anyway, let's dive in to the Archangel!**

**The Gundam Archangel is a Gundam-Frame Mobile Suit first employed by the Misurugi Empire during the Mobile War. In fact, due to being so unique and powerful, it ended the Mobile War all on its own.**

**After the Mobile War, the Misurugi Empire reformatted the Archangel into the first Para-Mail, and quickly began production of cheaper Mass-Production Models using more common technologies. On the Anniversary of the Misurugi Empire, Archangel is brought out to stand as the Empire's symbol of peace and prosperity.**

**The Gundam Archangel, much like the Melody Gundam, stands at 9.7 Meters, with a weight of 5 Metric Tons.**

**The Archangel's design and appearance is identical to the GN-001 Gundam Exia from _Gundam 00_. However, Archangel's color scheme follows's Academy Skin from _Overwatch_.**

**I'll go over the Gundam Archangel's specs another time, since it'll take forever to get through.**

**I hope you all enjoy!**

**Next Time: They called it Gundam.**

**Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!**


	3. They called it Gundam

**This story's kinda fun, but there's gonna be some deep stuff going down soon enough.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam or Cross Ange.**

**Leo begins to settle in to his new life bunking with Tusk. All the while, Tusk begins teaching Leo to pilot Melody! Despite the fact they can't agree on what kind of Mobile Suit Melody is, the two get along well.**

**As the time flies, Leo ventures further and further out from Tusk's island.**

**But he'll soon learn that he might not be welcome in this new world...**

* * *

"Hey! Leo!"

Leo rolled over in bed, groaning.

"Time to get up!"

Why did that sound so familiar?

Suddenly, a pair of hands violently seized Leo, and shook him awake. Leo quickly threw off the blanket on his bed and sat up, embarrassed by Anita's antics in getting him up on time each day.

"Mom-?!"

Leo then flinched as he realized he wasn't being rudely awakened by Anita...

...But rather, by Tusk.

"Sorry," Quipped Tusk, "But I don't think I fit the position to be mom."

Leo blushed in humiliation.

Tusk laughed.

"I've finished making breakfast," Tusk said as he turned elsewhere, "Make sure to put your dishes in the sink, we'll start practicing with your Melody when you're finished eating, I'll grab my own Para-Mail and brush the dust off."

"You have one?"

"Yeah." Reminisced Tusk, "I...Inherited it."

Leo would've asked, but Tusk was already leaving.

"Oh," Tusk stopped, "After we finish with pilot training, remind me to get you some clothes. You've been wearing those pants since yesterday, and it's not gonna do if that's all you have for wardrobe."

"Uh...Right."

It had been half a day and a night since Leo arrived, and Tusk seemed so casual about it.

But for Leo...

...This would take some getting used to.

As Leo ate breakfast, Tusk went to go take a peek at Melody.

He'd found that the Para-Mail had already closed its cockpit on its own, potentially due to some security program. However, to Tusk, the color scheme was eerily familiar, and he'd seen the machine somewhere before.

Tusk stared intently at the machine, gazing upon all of its features.

"Looks like its got some weaponry..." Tusk muttered, "But the cockpit's enclosed, so I can't take a look at the data...Looks like Leo's gonna have to figure that part out himself..."

Tusk turned to leave, but quickly returned to studying the machine as something caught his eye.

In the back, behind the cockpit, Tusk observed a V-shaped pair of golden antennae.

It was then the gears in his mind began to turn.

All those years ago...

"Gundam?" Tusk whispered to himself.

Tusk shook his head as he began to deny the very notion, and continued on his way to retrieve his Para-Mail.

It just couldn't be a Gundam...

...They'd all been destroyed.

* * *

_Arzenal..._

"Commander," Said Emma, "Chief Engineer Poe is on his way."

"Good." Responded Jill.

No very long after, the door to Arzenal's Command Center burst open as a young man wearing a pair of navy blue coveralls marched in. He glistened with sweat, soot ran across his face, he had the coveralls half-off, with the sleeves tied around his waist, revealing a white undershirt.

"This better be good," He grumbled, "You know damn well I don't like getting pulled away in the middle of working!"

"You need to stop obsessing over Para-Mails so much then," Barbed Jill, "If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you had a Para-Mail-fetish or something. Calm down Poe, we've been through this before."

The young boy wiped the sweat from his face, and sighed.

"Let's hear it then." He said.

Emma simply scoffed, but was ignored.

"Yesterday afternoon," Said Jill, "We sounded the alarm, since a singularity popped up out of nowhere."

"I remember," Said Poe, "You told me the squad sent to intercept came back empty-handed, yeah?"

"However," Continued Jill, "A second look at the singularity signature revealed it wasn't a singularity."

"Oh?"

"Take a look at this." Said Jill, handing Poe a tablet.

Poe studied the tablet's screen.

"Well well well," Poe chuckled, a smirk curling on his face, "Jill, I didn't know you gave presents."

Poe had a habit of disregarding authority. Jill didn't mind all too much, as Poe was able to get along for the most part. Emma, on the other hand, was always upset that Poe seemed far too casual and relaxed.

"Address your commander with respect!" Scolded Emma.

"What do you make of it?" Said Jill.

"You're right: This isn't a singularity," Corrected Poe, "This is a blowout generated by a very unique power source."

"And that's good for you why...?"

"There's only one possible cause for this signature," Chuckled Poe, "A Gundam."

"As in the Archangel?"

"The Archangel's one of many." Responded Poe, "The Misurugi Empire's Archangel isn't the first Gundam made. If you studied history, you'd have known about the very interesting All-Gundam War."

"I recall," Said Emma, "What's so important about it?"

Poe gave Emma a look of disgust, as though she'd just offended him.

"You're so dumb..." He grumbled, earning him a stutter in spite from Emma, "Assuming the Misurugi Empire hasn't decided to shake off the dust from the Archangel...Then this is the calling card of the first Gundam in almost twenty years."

"Are they really so hard to come by?" Emma asked innocently.

Poe gave Emma another look of disgust.

"Are you daft?!" He snapped, "Gundams are the peak of Mobile Suit engineering! Ugh...Alright, I'll dumb it down for you. Gundams are rare, due to their exceptionally rare materials and even rarer power source. Gundam Frames are composed of Gundarium, one of the toughest and rarest forms of armor in existence."

Emma was almost already lost to Poe, but he didn't care.

"Gundam Frames essentially flipped the tables of conventional warfare." Poe continued, "However, there were technological advancements that made a few Mobile Suits capable of going toe-to-toe with a Gundam, but not after some serious breakthroughs were made."

"Interesting," Said Jill, "But what's that got to do with you ogling at the sign of one?"

"Let's answer that with a history lesson," Said Poe, "Now, remember the All-Gundam War? This was a war fought with nothing but Gundams-seriously, no soldiers, no non-Gundam Mobile Suits, no tanks-nothing!"

"And?" Emma said, growing a little impatient.

"Out of all the supposed fame of Gundams," Proposed Poe, "Exactly how many Gundams do you think fought this war?"

Emma and Jill began to think deeply on the question.

"If they're as rare as you say they are," Answered Emma, "I'd say...About four-hundred?"

Jill remained silent, as she wanted to know the answer without the embarrassment of being wrong.

"The correct answer is seventy-two." Said Poe.

"Seventy-two?! They were that rare?!" Emma cried in dismay.

"Duh," Mocked Poe, "Although exactly one-hundred Gundams were commissioned, the war ended and they were abandoned. All seventy-two Gundams that were used in the war ended up being destroyed beyond repair. However, not much in known about what happened to the remaining twenty-eight."

"But the Misurugi Empire..."

"It's possible that during the Mobile War," Theorized Poe, "The Misurugi Empire found the Archangel and completed it. It's not impossible for them to have discovered one of the decommissioned Gundams...But that begs the question of where the remaining twenty-seven went."

"Fascinating crash-course in history," Reminded Jill, "But what does that have to do with the here and now? The signature's dropped off the grid, we can't trace it until whatever caused the signature does it again."

"True..." Grumbled Poe, "But I'd recommend we take it in for study."

"Got it." Said Jill, "You owe me for it, though."

"Be happy to." Said Poe, turning to leave.

As soon Emma knew Poe was out of earshot, she vented to Jill.

"Hmph!" She scoffed, "That boy has no manners! He's not right in the head, I say! Barging in here and acting like he owns the place, he's overstepped! But you're not doing anything to stop him! Human or not, he needs to remember who he's talking to!"

"I like him." Chuckled Jill, "He's not afraid to throw down for a sortie, and he's lookin' pretty fine right now..."

Emma gave Jill a look of horror, realizing Jill was willing to give Poe the time of day.

As much as Poe wanted to, he never truly told anyone the reason he was so obsessed with the energy signature.

It just wasn't ready yet...

But this new factor could be what he'd been looking for...

It would only be a matter of time...

* * *

"Alright! Done!" Called Leo, marching out to Melody, which hadn't moved from the mini-crater it made when it crashed the previous day.

Tusk didn't respond, and was nowhere in sight.

"Tusk?"

Once again, there was no answer.

"...Tusk?" Called Leo once again.

Sounds of mechanical clanking and whirring sounded off from the forest at the edge of the beach. Leo jumped as a massive pink Para-Mail marched its way out of the trees, and towered over him.

"Tusk?!" Cried Leo, "We have a problem!"

Suddenly, the Para-Mail's cockpit hissed and slid open, with Tusk standing up out of the cockpit.

"What's wrong Leo?" Called Tusk.

"That's...Your Para-Mail thing?!"

"Yeah! Cool, right? It's called an Arquebus."

"I...Guess."

"Hang on a sec, I'll come down and help you figure out how to operate yours!"

Tusk sat back down, and had the Para-Mail kneel on one knee, allowing Tusk to simply jump to the ground safely.

"Alright," Said Tusk, "Let's see if we can unlock yours."

"Uh...Right."

Tusk and Leo walked over to Melody.

"Hm..." Observed Tusk, "Don't see a manual release..."

Leo slowly placed his hand on Melody's cockpit. Without warning, the cockpit hissed and slid right open. Leo jumped and fell back in surprise, not expecting a single touch to dislodge the cockpit.

Tusk raised an eyebrow with intrigue.

"Is that normal?" Leo asked innocently.

"I guess..." Said Tusk, "Here, hop in, I'll look over the controls with you."

"Mm." Leo grunted nervously.

Leo slowly got in the cockpit, doing his best to remain calm during the first few moments of sitting in the saddle-like pilot seat. Leo felt a little calmer, and rested his hands on the handlebar controls.

Suddenly, the cockpit came to life around Leo, and the machine activated.

"Wow..." Leo whispered.

"Okay," Tusk came up, "Lessee...I think it's best we start with Destroyer Mode. We should be able to switch modes on the ground."

"Huh?"

"Melody's in Flight Mode right now," Explained Tusk, "So we'll switch the configuration to something more localized to ease you into the thing."

"Oh..."

"So," Instructed Tusk, "To switch modes, you need to pull the handles out, twist them vertically, and punch them back in."

"Like...This?"

Leo pulled the handles out, and punched them back in.

"No no," Said Tusk, "You twist them so they're both pointing up, then you punch back in."

"How's this?"

Leo pulled the handles out once more, twisted them upright, and pushed them back into place.

Much to both Leo's and Tusk's surprise, the cockpit suddenly snapped shut.

Tusk jumped back as Melody began to change shape.

Two massive arms surged out, a pair of legs kicked into the sand, and the cockpit in the torso flattened a little and Melody took a humanoid shape. The transformation ended up kicking up a large cloud of dust in Tusk's face.

Inside Melody's cockpit, Leo found that the pilot seat shifted as the cockpit compressed, lurching back as it switched from a saddle into more of a reclined chair, allowing him to stretch his legs a little.

However...

...Melody was now laying face-down in the sandy beach.

"I'll direct you, don't worry!" Tusk shouted.

"Hang on, I think I can figure it out..." Leo responded, as he began to shift the controls.

After a few moments of flailing about on the ground, Melody pushed into the ground and began to get on its feet.

As it stood up straight and tall, Tusk's eyes widened.

"No...Way..." He gawked.

The golden antennae, the eyes, and the colors.

What now towered Tusk was well and truly a Gundam.

One Melody's left hip rested a Katana, and a blade-like club on the right. Around the rear of the hips rested a Beam Rifle and a Machine Gun. On Melody's wrists were two more guns, fully-integrated into the wrists.

He'd seen it before somewhere...But where?

It couldn't have been back then...

"_Tusk?_" Leo's voice was magnified by a loudspeaker built into Melody, "_Is something wrong?_"

"What? No-no...Just...Remembering something. Anyway, not important."

"_Oh...Okay. Oh! Melody's bigger than the Arque...Arque..._"

"Arquebus!" Tusk assisted.

"_That thing!_"

"Oh yeah?" Tusk retorted, "I bet I can whip your can!"

"_Nuh-uh!_"

"You're on!" Tusk concluded as he got back in the Arquebus.

Tusk wasted no time in showing his skill.

Leo, on the other hand, was hopelessly out of his depth.

"You ready?" Tusk boomed.

"Huh? Wait, I didn't-!"

"Too late!"

Arquebus closed the gap, and knocked Melody over.

"W-Wah?!" Leo cried as he felt the cockpit tremble upon impact.

Leo scrambled with the controls, causing Melody to once again flail about. However, he quickly worked out the controls, and began to push Melody back to its feet. Tusk could tell Leo was very out of his league.

"What now?" Leo muttered.

Suddenly, Melody's right hip hissed, and the club moved in front of Melody, revealing it was held in place by a Sub-Arm. The handle twisted back to Melody, inviting Melody to take the weapon.

"Uh...Alright."

Leo pushed the controls, and picked up the weapon.

A tab popped up on the cockpit screen, identifying the weapon as Melody raised the club.

"A...Sword-Mace?"

Tusk gulped.

"Hey..." Tusk chuckled nervously, "There's no need to bring that out...I...Uh..."

Melody was holding the Sword-Mace with both hands, and looked quite ready to chop right through Tusk's Para-Mail.

"Oh crap..." Tusk mumbled.

Melody swung the Sword-Mace, and almost cleaved the Arquebus in two.

"Hey! Come on!" Pleaded Tusk, "I'm sorry!"

After a little while, Leo finally stopped chasing Tusk, allowing the boys to continue with training. Leo had a strange apparent knack for piloting Melody, almost as though Melody itself was providing for Leo.

For the remainder of the day, Leo adjusted to Melody rather quickly. Around midday, Tusk left Leo to practice with Melody himself as Tusk went to go prepare a second bed, seeing as Leo would be starting to live on the island.

In seemingly no time at all, the day passed by, and the boys were preparing to go to sleep.

Tusk went right to bed, but Leo stayed up.

He felt far too pumped up to go to bed so soon, despite the fact it was sundown.

"Maybe I can sneak in a bit of practice time..." Leo muttered to himself.

With that, Leo left the cabin.

* * *

Poe stretched his back.

"Haro," Said Poe, "What time is it?"

"Dinnertime! Dinnertime!" Piped up Haro, an orange ball-like robot toy.

"Dinnertime." He mumbled, turning and leaving his workshop.

As he turned away from his work, Poe patted Haro as he walked past. Poe looked back into the room one last time, gazing upon his secret side-project. Poe made sure to lock the door, in order to prevent anyone from sneaking a peek at his magnum opus, and carefully left the workshop.

Ever since he'd come to Arzenal, he'd slowly weathered the shock of a male living amongst an island full of women.

He'd met Norma of all kinds, each with different reactions to him.

It was a long, arduous effort to prove his worth, but he'd eventually earned Arzenal's respect.

But what was Poe doing at Arzenal in the first place?

Simply put, he enjoyed being at Arzenal far more than whatever home he'd lived at before. Ironically, Arzenal gave Poe freedom, despite being a remote island to contain the Norma of the World of Mana.

He felt at ease being able to act blunt and insensitive.

Poe got in line and grabbed a tray of the Cafeteria's dinner that night, which happened to be curry and rice.

"Sweet." He chuckled, marching to an empty table.

Poe took a seat, and began to chow down.

"Well well well," Chuckled an all-too-familiar sultry voice, "Look who's trodden out of his cave!"

Poe looked behind himself to find none other than Zola, Chris, Hilda, Rosalie, Vivian, Salia, and Ersha.

"Hey Zola." Poe grumbled, quickly returning to eating.

"Why're you always eating alone?" Inquired Ersha, "If you want to make more friends, you should eat with others and strike up a conversation!"

"In n' out." Poe responded between bites of curry.

"Again? Really?" Pouted Vivian, "Jeez! You're always holed up in your workshop! What're you even doing in there?"

Poe paused.

"Work." He grumbled, resuming soon after.

"Ooh! Did I say something?" Vivian chuckled.

"Ah, well," Chris stuttered, "P-Poe? Would you...Join us on our next sortie?"

"Mm." Poe grunted in acceptance.

It wasn't that Poe didn't like Zola and her cohorts, but it was simply how lecherous Zola could be. He held no contempt to Zola, but he experienced firsthand how physical she could be when she was given the chance.

Just like how she reacted to him at arriving at Arzenal.

Although she was fined and apologized greatly for the incident, the ordeal left a stinging impression of Zola on Poe.

"I was wondering," Inquired Salia, "Would it be possible for you to modify my Para-Mail when you get the chance? I can pay for it, just name your price."

"A-And mine too, I don't have too much money though..." Said Chris.

"What're we talking? Tech-wise." Inquired Poe.

"Ah...Well..." Salia realized her request had been a bit too mature, "I...Um...Don't know just yet."

"Take your time, I'm not really going anywhere."

"Thanks."

It was then that Poe stood up, with his tray seemingly spotless, and began to leave.

"Already?!" Cried Salia, "You just got here!"

"Hungry kid!" Chuckled Hilda, "S'not every day we see him come out of his workshop."

"Still older than you." Poe said, "Seriously, I know what you n' Zola get up to."

"Hey!" Hilda snapped, "Th-That's-!"

Zola chuckled.

"Sorry...'bout that." Said Zola, "But really? Bringing it back up again?"

"Yeah...I gotta go." Said Poe, continuing on his way.

"Later!" Called Vivian.

Ersha waved goodbye, despite Poe not turning to look back.

Poe left the Cafeteria, walking quickly to both avoid Zola and get back to his workshop quickly. However, Poe stopped as he left the Cafeteria. Instead of head straight back to the workshop, Poe turned and went to the Cemetery instead.

Poe walked down a very specific row of tombstones, one he'd walked down many times before.

Finally, Poe stopped, and turned to face one very special tombstone.

The name engraved upon the tombstone was "Kara."

But Poe used a different name for the Norma the tombstone represented.

"Hey...Mom." Said Poe.

It had been 4 years, since Kara's death and arriving at Arzenal.

So much had happened, it was unreal.

"Well," Poe continued, "Things're going great, not perfect, but good enough. I've almost finished it...The Mobile Suit that's gonna change the world. It's taken me so long...But if I can get enough cash, buy some new parts, it'll all be worth it. I just...Wish you were here to see it all."

Poe sighed, he'd lost count of how many times he'd said that.

What he did know was that it was too many times.

Far too many.

"Thought I'd find you here." Jill's voice spoke to Poe's left.

"And?" Poe said bitterly.

"You can mourn all you want later," Said Jill, "But I have something for you."

"What?" Said Poe, turning to face Jill.

"That 'Gundam' you called it? Its signature just popped up again, and it's not too far away either. I thought I'd be generous and let you in on the capture operation, since we can't really let it go."

Poe paused.

"Give me five minutes." He said.

Jill smirked.

"That's a good boy. You'll be paired with First Squadron, don't dawdle or you'll be left." She chuckled, turning to leave.

Poe quickly moved after her, and passed Jill as he rushed to retrieve his pilot uniform from his workshop.

Poe liked Jill the most.

She knew how to make him feel better.

* * *

_Minutes earlier, elsewhere..._

Leo sat in Melody's cockpit, practicing the conversion from Flight Mode to Destroyer Mode.

It occurred to Leo that switching modes was far easier when in the air.

And thus began a very long period of time spent trying to get Melody to start flying, with absolutely no experience in the art at all. However, Leo discovered that when he shifted the pedals at his feet, Melody's thrusters ignited.

"W-Woah!" Leo cried, not used to the sudden rush of flying forward.

After a little time spent adjusting to flying, Leo eventually managed to work out how to level the controls and adapt.

It took Leo a total of 5 hours into the night, but he'd finally began to fly Melody. He'd switched to Flight Mode, and began to practice his skills as a pilot.

Little did Leo know, however, he was quickly getting further and further away from Tusk's island.

He had something far more pressing on his mind.

"What was that you sang?" Muttered Leo, "Was it..._Hajimari_..."

Leo did his best to remember the lyrics, and butchered the song miserably.

"_Hajime_..._Kikari_...That's not it..." Mumbled Leo, "How's it go again?"

It was strange, Leo felt as though he was talking to a person, despite sitting inside the cockpit by himself. In fact, the more Leo thought, Melody responded so conveniently in sync with Leo, as though it was alive.

Leo began to consider actually talking to Melody.

If he was right, it would be worth it.

If he was wrong, at least there was nobody else to watch him do something very stupid.

Leo took a breath.

"Melody," He said, slightly embarrassed, "You can hear me, right? If you can...Can you sing that song?"

Leo waited for a few moments, praying he was right.

After only a few moments, Leo deemed his action was very humiliating.

He sighed in embarrassment.

A sudden sound caught off guard, causing him to jump in his seat.

_Hajimari no hikari kilari kirari..._

Leo could hear the song all around him.

Was it really Melody the whole time?

The song went on, and had no signs of stopping soon.

Leo smiled.

"So you _can_ hear me..." Leo whispered, closing his eyes.

He was growing tired.

Leo began to lean back and forth in his seat, his eyelids were suddenly heavier, and he simply couldn't keep his eyes open. Soon enough, Leo's eyes had shut for the night, and his face pressed against the controls.

However, instead of spiraling out of control, a tab popped up on the control screen.

The song stopped.

"_Autopilot Online._"

And so, Melody flew forward undisturbed.

But it wouldn't be long before there was danger over the horizon.

* * *

_2 hours before sunrise..._

_"Leo!"_ Called Anita, _"It's time to get up!"_

"Mm..." Leo grunted, thoroughly weary of his mundane day ahead.

_"Leo! You need to get up!"_

"Don...Wanna..."

_"I need you! Please get up!"_

Leo began to wake up, as Anita suddenly began to sound distressed.

_"Leo! HELP ME!"_ Anita cried.

Suddenly, Leo's eyes shot open.

"What the-ow!" Leo's neck twinged with pain.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck, and tried to sit up, only to realize he'd been sitting in Melody's cockpit. His body ached, and there was a stinging crick in his neck, due to sleeping improperly.

"What the...?" Leo muttered, rubbing his neck as he looked about the cockpit.

It was still a little dark outside, nothing new there. But just how long did Leo sleep for? Tusk would probably be upset with him falling asleep in Melody mid-practice. He had to get back before Tusk woke up.

It was then that Leo realized the gravity of the situation.

Tusk's island was no longer in sight.

Suddenly an alarm began to beep from Melody's controls. Leo looked down at a strange circular screen just below the control console. At the bottom end of the circle, there were several moving dots.

"What's going on?" Leo grumbled, his neck twinging once again.

Leo didn't realize it then, but Arzenal had caught up with him.

Several hundred meters behind Melody was Arzenal's First Squadron, with Poe in tow. It was led by Zola, much to Poe's discomfort.

"What the hell is that thing? No DRAGON I've ever seen." Said Zola, a sly grin curling onto her face, "Looks like a virgin..."

"It's not." Said Poe, his Para-Mail flying up next to Zola, "You're looking at Mobile Suit right there."

"Oh?" Inquired Zola, "Anything else? You might know a thing or two, spill."

"This is a capture operation." Reminded Poe, "I can't say for certain just yet, but the target's a Gundam."

Zola flinched, not expecting Poe's statement.

"A Gundam?! Impossible! They were all destroyed!"

"Just the ones that were actually used," Corrected Poe, "Either way, the objective still stands."

"Right." Zola chuckled, getting over her initial shock, "Assume attack formation! Load Freeze Bullets, and prepare to use necessary force if the target resists!"

"Yes Ma'am!" The rest of First Squadron replied.

Leo began to panic.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Cried Leo, "What's chasing us?"

Perhaps it was Tusk, playing some prank on Leo for running off all night.

However...

Leo inhaled and exhaled.

...He couldn't take it lying down.

Leo pulled the handles out, twisted them, and punched them back in.

The cockpit shifted, and Leo reclined in the seat.

First Squadron gasped as they watched the transformation.

Two arms came to the sides of the cockpit, and a lower torso and legs came under the cockpit, a head came over, its eyes flashing. The cockpit itself compressed, and was now encased by the Mobile Suit.

Poe's jaw dropped.

"Gundam..." He muttered.

"Enemy engaging! Prepare for combat!" Ordered Zola.

Poe shifted his Para-Mail into Destroyer Mode.

Poe's Para-Mail was a heavily modified Arquebus, which he'd inherited upon beginning his work at Arzenal. There was a debate of how much of the original machine was left after all of Poe's work.

The Arquebus's cockpit was enclosed, with a cyclops-like head in place. Armored limbs came around the cockpit, and brought the Arquebus into Destroyer Mode. Despite being a bit bulkier than other Para-Mails, Poe did his best to make the performance all the same.

Although the Arquebus he'd made his own was a masterpiece amongst other Para-Mails, it wasn't his magnum opus.

"I'm going in." Said Poe, flying ahead of First Squadron.

"Stay in formation!" Zola ordered.

Poe ignored Zola, and rushed at Melody.

"Dammit Poe!" Shouted Zola.

Poe was focusing on taking down the target as quickly as possible.

_"If I use the Freeze Bullets to keep it from moving, it'll be over quickly."_ Poe thought, _"I don't know who's piloting it, and I really don't care. Maybe the sudden change in temperature will kill 'em with the cold."_

"Crap!" Cried Leo, "That one's headed right for me!"

Melody turned midair to face the oncoming combatant, only to receive a devastating jump kick from Poe's Arquebus.

"Guh!" Cried Leo, fumbling with the controls.

He had absolutely no combat experience, which made it all the worse.

However...He knew how to pilot in Flight Mode, perhaps it was the same in Destroyer Mode?

Leo jerked the controls, causing Melody to recover and level out just above the surface of the sea below. Leo shifted the pedals, and Melody began to skate over the water's surface, kicking up the water and creating a massive splash as it went on.

"Hmph." Poe grunted.

"Poe!" Shouted Zola, "The hell were you thinking?!"

"Tch." Poe grunted, gritting his teeth.

"_Poe!_" Jill radioed from Arzenal, "_Either cooperate or come home, got it?_"

"...Fine." Poe hissed.

"If you're ready to behave," Ordered Zola, "Then fall back in line and actually listen to me!"

"Yes Ma'am." Poe grunted.

"Ooh~! Poe-Poe's in trouble~!" Chuckled Vivian.

"Pfft." Sneered Hilda, "Idiot."

"Yeah, yeah!" Said Rosalie, "Nobody disses Zola!"

"H-Hey," Said Chris, "I don't think we should rile him up..."

"Focus!" Said Salia, "The target's going to slip by!"

"Right," Said Zola, "Catch up to the target, take it in a pincer maneuver!"

"Yes Ma'am!" First Squadron responded.

First Squadron shifted into Flight Mode, and quickly caught up to Melody, passing the Mobile Suit overhead. Quickly switching to Destroyer Mode, First Squadron surrounded Melody in a matter of seconds.

Leo looked on the radar, frantically thinking of what to do next.

"Is it just me," Observed Salia, "Or is this target odd?"

"You're right," Concurred Zola, "The most advanced move its made is recovering from Poe's kick. Whatever the case is, we're going to capture it! Vivian, Poe, Ersha, close in on the target! Everyone else, maintain a tight perimeter around them!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Vivian, Poe, and Ersha slowly began to fly down to Melody, and trapped the Mobile Suit in a triangle.

"Aw crap!" Leo whined.

"Ice it!" Zola commanded.

The trio closed in on Melody, and outstretched their hands to place the Freeze Bullets on Melody.

Leo discovered a way out.

Poe rushed in the fastest, and placed a Freeze Bullet on Melody's left arm. Moments after, however, Melody slipped through the trio's formation and flew directly up to the skies, escaping Vivian and Ersha.

"Yes!" Leo cheered, realizing too late that the rest of First Squadron still had him surrounded.

"The target's going up! Intercept!" Ordered Zola, rushing at Melody.

Oddly enough, Melody sped up, outracing First Squadron in a straight flight to the heavens.

Leo let himself breath.

A mistake that nearly cost him his life.

Without warning, Melody's arm exploded at the elbow, and was encased in a chunk of ice that spread across the side of the cockpit and to the hip, freezing Melody's leg, arm, and head in place!

"What the-?!" Cried Leo, taken completely by surprise.

The sudden shift in weight caused Melody to slow down, allowing First Squadron to catch up.

"Yes!" Said Zola, "Good work Poe. Let's bring it down and take it home, girls!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Nonononono!" Cried Leo.

Melody had decelerated too much to keep ahead of First Squadron, and was now within striking distance. The only chance Leo had now was to cut the thrusters, and pray the sudden fall would give him distance between him and First Squadron.

However, the problem was that if Leo cut the thrusters, there wasn't a promise that they'd turn back on.

Things were beginning to look bleak for Leo.

He needed to fight back.

"Gimme something good!" Leo cried in desperation.

Once again, as though it were alive, one of the guns on Melody's back was placed into its right hand by a Sub-Arm.

"The heck?" Leo said, reading the ID on the screen, "A...Beam Rifle?"

"Ma'am!" Called Salia, "Target is armed! Repeat, target is armed!"

"Growing a pair, eh?" Said Zola, "Keep out of the target's line of fire, and freeze hi-?!"

"Roger-?!"

Little did any of First Squadron realize, but they'd flown quite high into the sky, and were beginning to run out of oxygen. Para-Mails were designed with an open-air cockpit in Flight Mode, and weren't airtight in Destroyer Mode.

If they didn't fall back, they'd suffocate.

Leo, on the other hand, was unaffected, and didn't notice the problem. However, he did notice First Squadron slowing down and backing off. Whatever was the cause of this, Leo simply praised the source.

He had enough room to fight back.

"Okay," Said Leo, "Let's see what this does!"

Melody turned back at First Squadron, and raised the Beam Rifle at them.

First Squadron were all too focused on holding their breath long enough to maintain consciousness until they could get back down to retaliate. Leo didn't understand Melody's power, and was desperate enough to use all of it to push them back further.

Salia was the first to see Melody aiming at them.

"Target's...Firing!" She choked out, "Evade..."

Salia's Para-Mail lost control, and began to plummet from the sky.

One by one, Chris, Ersha, Hilda, Vivian, and Poe began to drop from the heavens as they began to pass out.

Zola, on the other hand, was still in Leo's range.

Unfortunately for her, she was well within Leo's sights.

"Fire!" Shouted Leo, pulling a trigger on the right control.

Melody's Beam Rifle lit up, and fired a single shot right at Zola's Arquebus. The beam was heading right for Zola's cockpit, and would run her right through. For Zola, time seemed to stop as she did the only thing she could do.

Zola attempted to dodge the oncoming beam.

Miraculously, Zola moved fast enough to keep the beam from going through the cockpit.

Unfortunately, she was unable to stop the projectile from hitting her Arquebus, as the beam shot right through the Para-Mail's right shoulder, shooting the Arquebus's arm clean off. Worse still, the beam struck several sensitive areas around the right side of the cockpit.

The feedback went into the cockpit, which caused the left screen on the cockpit to explode right in Zola's face.

"AAAAAAGH!" She screamed in pain, blood smearing the right side of her face.

Zola let go of the controls, and placed both of her hands over her right eye as she howled and screamed in absolute pain. The act of doing so ended up causing her Arquebus to lose control and plummet towards the ocean below.

The rest of First Squadron were still too fresh from recovery to re-engage, and only realized too late Zola's predicament, watching her fall right past them.

"Captain!" Cried Salia.

"On it!" Snapped Poe, shifting to Flight Mode and rocketing after Zola.

First Squadron was too preoccupied with saving Zola to chase after Melody, whom began to make a run for it. Poe narrowly managed to grab hold of Zola's Arquebus, and pull up mere inches away from crashing into the water.

It had been a long night.

Poe could only pray the day wouldn't be so unforgiving.

* * *

_1 Hour later..._

Poe sat in the Waiting Room of the Medical Bay.

He didn't know why he was there, as all there was to do was sit and watch First Squadron cry profusely like babies after seeing Zola being rushed into a room almost seconds after their return.

What confused him most of all was a strange, crushing guilt after watching Zola get placed on a stretcher, screaming in agony.

Poe recalled the events that led up to this moment.

After reporting in as they were within Arzenal's airspace, Jill ordered a medical team on standby to receive Zola. The entire First Squadron watched in horror as their Captain was carted off, kicking and screaming on the stretcher as she held her hands over her right eye.

After a short lecture and admonishment from both Emma and Jill, Poe was forced to sit with First Squadron in the Medical Bay until Zola was deemed okay. However long that would take was the test of Poe's patience.

On top of that, a good portion of his payment was docked to serve as a punishment.

Was that why he felt so guilty?

Zola wasn't someone Poe cared too greatly about.

It was quite common knowledge of why that was, but Poe really didn't take too much pleasure in being reminded of such a past.

Chris, Rosalie, and Hilda were bawling the most, as Zola was quite caring towards them, both genuinely and sensually. The rest weren't crying as much, but they still cried excessively for Poe's standards.

So why did he feel so guilty?

How much time did he waste sitting here, when he could've been doing so much more?

After what seemed like an eternity of watching First Squadron sob, Maggie finally came into the Waiting Room.

"Good news," She said, her sly grin not wearing out, "Zola's stable."

This sent First Squadron into a moment of hysterics, which really tried Poe's patience.

"Okay okay," Maggie chuckled, "Although...Her's eye's kaput."

"WHAT?!" Shrieked Rosalie and Chris.

"Yeah...Whatever that thing was, got pretty lucky."

Chris and Rosalie looked ready to have another meltdown.

Ersha quickly came in to console them, pulling them into a big hug.

"Ssh..." She cooed, "It's alright, let it out..."

Chris buried her face in Ersha's bosom to muffle her crying, with Rosalie doing the same moments after.

Hilda stood away from everyone else, with an angry look on her face.

"Whatever that thing was..." She growled, "It's gonna be dead the next time I get my hands on it!"

Poe sighed, thoroughly worn out.

"She's sedated for now, couldn't hear myself think with her screaming." Said Maggie.

"I'm out." Poe grunted monotonously, getting up out of his chair, and turning to leave.

Poe strolled out of the door before anyone could stop him.

He really didn't want to be there.

Poe didn't bother taking off his pilot uniform, or even go to his workshop. After returning from that mission, he was simply conflicted. He felt guilty, despite the face that he didn't like Zola. He simply couldn't figure out why that was.

Eventually, Poe made his way to the Landing Platform.

Currently, Poe found his Arquebus as he'd left it, out on the edge of the Landing Platform. He'd made it clear several times that no-one but him was to do anything outside of moving his machine to the Platform for launch.

The Arquebus was kneeling on both knees, its head facing the ground, with the cockpit open.

It was sunrise.

All he could do was stand next to his machine, and gaze out to the horizon.

He just didn't know how to feel.

All he knew for certain was that this was the sunrise that would give way to the first day of the rest of his life.

His only question was how many more days he'd have left.

* * *

**A/N: And done! Poe's a rather interesting character, and I hope you like him!**

**Let's get to him!**

**Poe is a human male, age 19. He has long, black hair, silver eyes, with a height of 5'7. When not in combat, he wears a white tank-top, with navy-blue coveralls with the sleeves tied around his waist. When in combat, he wears a custom-tailored pilot uniform with ballistic padding.**

**(For reference, his pilot is a brown uniform similar to Celestial Being's Gundam Meister uniform.)**

**Upon his arrival at Arzenal at age 15, Poe began a long career of working at Arzenal, despite the uproar he'd created. His was is a Norma Para-Mail Pilot named Kara. Little is known about how Kara conceived a son, with various rumors being made.**

**Currently working as both an Engineer and Para-Mail Pilot for Arzenal, he is very popular as the person to work on commissions made by Norma.**

**Let's get into that too!**

**Poe pilots an Arquebus Custom. ****Originally owned by Kara, Poe inherited Kara's Arquebus upon arrival at Arzenal. After making so much money, he'd customized the machine to the point where very little of the original machine remains.**

**Several modifications made were the modification to the head, and extra armor plating around the cockpit, along with a bigger fuel capacity. Most of the armor itself has been changed greatly by Poe, making the Arquebus far greater than standard Para-Mails.**

**It's currently mainly army green, with smokey gray accents.**

**The armor plating has been replaced with Nanolaminate Armor Plating, much to Poe's efforts.**

**The Arquebus Poe Custom stands at a height of 7.5 Meters, and has a weight of 5 Metric Tons.**

**It is armed with a Freeze Bullet Launcher, an Assault Rifle, a Wrist Blade, and twin shoulder-mounted 60mm ****Vulcan Pods.**

**The Arquebus Poe Custom is designed very much like Whirl from _Transformers: Fall of Cybertron_.**

**Everything else implied in the chapter is easy to figure out, though I'll go in-depth as time goes on.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

**Next Time: Live and let live.**

**Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!**


	4. Live and let live

**It took me a bit longer to think of where to go with this coming chapter, I hope I took it into the right direction.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam or Cross Ange.**

**Warning: This Chapters contains M-Rated content, read at your own discretion.**

**After the fiasco of a mission, Poe returns to his usual habits.**

**Back at the place Poe calls his home, Poe finds himself returning back to his normal routine. However, with the woman who hurt Poe in an irreversible way in the hospital, can Poe truly reconcile his past?**

* * *

"Reflect on yourself?" Inquired Jill.

"Mm." Poe grunted.

It'd only been an hour or two since Poe was allowed to leave the Medical Bay, and Jill had already gotten ahead of Emma of further reprimanding Poe. What irritated Poe the most was the issue that Zola's injury wasn't even his fault.

So why waste him time with something irrelevant to him?

"You're wondering why all this, aren't you?"

"Yeah..." Poe sighed.

"I know I've been spoiling you a lot in Arzenal," Said Jill, "But out there? You aren't under my shadow. You have to obey orders given to you, whether you like it or not. If you want to join the fight, you have to learn your proper place."

Poe remained silent.

"Four damn years of this crap..." Jill grumbled, "And to think I actually had a little sympathy when they dumped you here. Since you're an engineer, you can spend your time working on repairing First Squadron's Para-Mails by yourself. Then again..."

Jill turned to leave the room.

"...You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Jill closed the door as she left, leaving Poe to sit in his lonesome.

After a minute or so, Poe sighed, and left the room himself.

Jill was able to catch him, and guide him to his room for a long-winded lecture. Poe hadn't set foot in his own room for 3 years, due to him working so late in his workshop every night.

Poe decided to pay a visit to Jasmine's Mall.

Jasmine gave him a sly grin.

"Lookin' tired," She chuckled, "Haven't even taken off the pilot suit yet, eh? Jill must've chewed your ass good. So, what'll it be today? Nanolaminate? Another propellant tank? Take a look around, I bet I got something you'll fancy-!"

David handed Jasmine a fistful of money.

"The stall, normal use."

Jasmine counted the payment, and nodded.

"Poppin' it already in the morning? Must be some real shit you went through, go on ahead."

Poe walked on down to the changing booths, only to stop at a stall that had been built at the end of the booths. Poe pulled out a key, unlocked the stall, closed and locked the door as he entered.

He sighed.

"Freakin' Jill..." He grumbled to himself as he began to remove the pilot suit he wore.

Whenever Poe felt stressed out, or if he just had the sudden urge, he'd come to this specific stall whenever he was in need. He'd commissioned Jasmine to have the stall installed for his private use.

The purpose? For whenever Poe felt the urge to masturbate.

Poe was no stranger to lust, he'd been surrounded by girls for 4 years. Both Jill and Jasmine were on board with the idea of Poe having his own private area to rub one out if he needed it, in order to prevent a very awkward situation.

The sheer number of visits Poe made ranged in the quadruple-digits.

Over time, Poe also decorated the stall's interior a little, due to having a great deal of room to do so. He'd added a chair, a shelf, a light, and several magazines for the sake of his own comfort.

Poe let the pilot suit hang at his hips, and went to sit down in the chair.

"Stupid Zola, stupid First Squadron, stupid Jill, stupid Emma..." Poe grumbled as he began to stroke himself.

Why was it that the girls Poe wanted to hook up with were the ones he couldn't?

Poe began to pant slowly as he continued to masturbate.

Jill...Her body was simply that of a mature adult. Although she'd lost an arm, due to some reason she didn't tell Poe, her body was simply toned to perfection. The mere thought of her was enough to get Poe revved up in his current state.

It was both a blessing and a curse that Jill was doing her best to treat Poe like everyone else. Despite how morally irresponsible Jill was, there were times where she lightened up on Poe a little.

She quickly agreed to Poe using the stall, fortunately.

Every time Poe had to rub one out, he felt guilty afterward.

After what seemed like ages, Poe finally blew his load, with white semen spraying all over his hand as he did his best to contain his erupting orgasm.

He sighed, and began to clean up.

He pulled the pilot suit back up, and exited.

"Feeling better?" Inquired Jasmine.

"Yeah..." Sighed Poe, exhausted.

"My professional opinion is that you stop pullin' all-nighters. I mean, you look like death!"

"I guess..." Poe yawned.

"Knew it." Jasmine grinned, "Go on, take a snooze somewhere else!"

"Mm..." Poe sighed, blinking several times as he turned to leave.

Eventually, Poe staggered all the way back to his workshop, and entered.

"Poe! Poe!" Greeted Haro.

"Mornin'...Haro..." Poe yawned.

The orange Haro robot was Poe's most trusted companion. It was something Kara had given to him as a little boy, which he'd kept throughout ever since. It was one of the few possessions Poe was able to keep after being sent to Arzenal.

Ever since his arrival, Haro had become one of the few things Poe genuinely cared for.

It was one of the few tangible things Poe had left of his beloved mother.

Poe stumbled over to a cot, and draped himself onto it.

Haro rolled over to Poe, and jumped into his arms.

Poe cuddled with Haro, and rested his weary head on his pillow.

"Sleep well! Sleep well!" Haro chimed.

"Mm..." Poe sighed, passing quickly into dreamland.

* * *

Leo struggled with the crick in his neck as he piloted Melody.

Sleeping in the cockpit was not smart at all.

The boy could only pray Tusk hadn't woken up yet.

Melody was 1/4 encased in ice, which had yet to thaw at all. It was taxing on Melody, with weight and aerodynamic issues. Tusk would be furious with Leo if he found out the boy had gotten himself endangered like that.

Anita would most likely have a heart attack.

Leo finally understood why he wasn't supposed to sneak into somewhere he didn't belong.

But now, all he could do was pray for his mother's sanity to be intact.

Salamandinay...

Sala was also against him sneaking around to find Melody. Leo could tell she was only trying to look out for him, and it hurt to realize his foolishness was an act of throwing her friendship back in her face.

She'd be just as furious with Leo if she found him.

He really should've listened.

It was cold inside the cockpit.

Leo wished he was in Sala's arms again, her warmth, her loving embrace...He felt so cold without it. Anita's embrace was just as, if not warmer than Salamandinay's, mostly due to Anita's endowment.

He longed to be in his mother's arms, reassuring him that he'd be okay.

He longed for the warmth he'd taken for granted.

Suddenly, Leo felt the cockpit began to warm up.

He could feel the warmth around him, like a loving embrace.

Leo was finally beginning to figure out more and more about Melody. It responded to him, as though it were alive in its own right. But it still wasn't clear to Leo why that was, or even how.

How could a machine be so sentient as to cater to him like a child?

At long last, through some inexplicable miracle, Leo finally was within sight of Tusk's island.

Tusk burst out of the cabin, hearing the sounds of booming thrusters nearby.

The wind began to pick up as Tusk saw Melody, half-encrusted in a massive shell of ice, descend from the sky overhead, and drop slowly into a kneeling position on one knee as the engines died down.

"Leo?" Tusk muttered to himself, jogging over.

Leo opened the cockpit, and climbed out.

"T-Tusk?! You're...Awake." Said Leo, as he laid eyes upon Tusk.

"What..." Tusk shouted, gawking at the massive chunk of ice, "WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"Oh..I...Heheh..." Leo chuckled nervously.

The guilty look on Leo's face told Tusk all.

"Get down here and explain yourself!" Snapped Tusk.

Leo gulped, and reluctantly climbed down from Melody's cockpit to face the music. Tusk forced Leo to confess everything he knew, from sneaking out to practice, to waking up and being attacked by Para-Mails.

"So," Summarized Tusk, "You thought you'd surprise me by sneaking in a little more practice time, only to fall asleep mid-flight and get caught in an attack, which resulted in Melody getting iced?"

"Yeah..."

Tusk sighed.

"This is not what I what I had in mind..." Tusk groaned.

"I'M SORRY!" Leo began grovel at Tusk's feet.

"Do you have any idea who attacked you?"

"N-No...There were those Para-Mail things...But it was too dark for me to see anything that identified them."

"I see..."

Tusk knew there was only one force that would chase Leo in Melody, and would be able to respond to Melody so quickly.

Arzenal.

Tusk had friends in Arzenal, and it wouldn't look good if Leo had been discovered and attacked. The only way to resolve this issue was to contact Arzenal and pray he could try to talk things out. However, he had no real means of contacting Arzenal, not after that catastrophe.

"Please don't get mad!" Cried Leo.

"I'm not mad," Said Tusk, "I'm just...Stressed out. This is a real mess you've gotten in."

Tusk looked at the ice-encrusted Melody.

"This'll take forever to thaw...Looks like we won't be able to practice for a while...Consider it a punishment for getting so in over your head."

Leo remained silent, he didn't have anything to say for himself.

"To work around this," Said Tusk, "I'll have to dismantle the arm for a bit. Depending on how the ice has spread, hopefully the most we have to do is remove the armor plating to make it work."

"Yeah..."

"Go in and take a load off, you look shaken up real bad."

"Mm." Leo stopped grovelling and went back inside the cabin.

Tusk watched as Leo entered the cabin, and sighed quietly in relief. Tusk blinked, and looked back at the kneeling Melody, judging the magnitude of the issue about breaking the ice.

"How am I supposed to fix _this_?" Tusk grumbled to himself.

Leo laid down on the cot, and sighed.

There was no telling how much trouble he'd put himself in.

Then again, he really didn't want to know.

* * *

_Earth..._

"Please, Anita," Assured the doctor, "You need to keep calm-"

"KEEP CALM?!" Screamed Anita, bawling her eyes out, "MY BABY IS WHO KNOWS WHERE! WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD'VE POSSESSED HIM TO SNEAK OUT AND VANISH INTO THE NIGHT?!"

Anita ceased screaming to continue hysterics.

Salamandinay, on the other hand, was silent.

Why would Leo go?

Why would he not let her confess to him?

Was it the strange Mobile Suit they'd found? Did it somehow call to him?

Salamandinay didn't know whether to be angry at Leo, or mourning over his departure to places unknown. The Priestess had almost commissioned a search and rescue upon hearing the news, but perished the idea.

They couldn't rescue Leo if they had no idea where he was.

There was no knowing just what sort of danger Leo was in. Salamandinay wished she could just take Enryugo and find Leo, and carry him home in his arms. However, with no accurate way to locate him, they simply had to put their hopes that Leo could look after himself.

It'd been confirmed that Leo and the unknown Mobile Suit both vanished. Obviously, Leo-whether intentionally or not-had disappeared completely with the machine. It was clear to Salamandinay that the machine had been identified, but it was classified to her for whatever reason.

If only she'd never let him mess around with Enryugo...

This was all her fault, exposing him to the Ryuu-Shin-Ki Units, allowing him to wander around the facility, all of that was on her hands.

And now?

She was the one responsible for a series of events that caused the People of Aura to lose their Progenitor.

Leo had been formally titled the Progenitor, as he was subjected to sex studies.

To lose a vital area of research in just a single night...

Salamandinay felt unworthy of the title of princess.

She couldn't face Anita, for fear that the woman would curse her. Anita knew very well how close Salamandinay was to Leo. Had the woman learned that Salamandinay was responsible for letting Leo loose within the facility in the first place...

...The princess simply couldn't fathom the idea that Anita could forgive her.

"Princess Salamandinay, step forward." Said the Priestess.

Salamandinay knelt before the Priestess.

"I have no doubt you're blaming yourself for this incident," The Priestess assumed, "However, there isn't any time to mope about such. I'm trusting you with the recovery effort, while I have Lizardia in the World of Mana search for Leo."

"Of course, High Priestess."

"Failure is not an option. Leo isn't replaceable."

"I understand."

"Whatever the case, we will discuss the offenses and consequences once this disaster has been remedied."

"Yes High Priestess."

"In time, all will be disclosed to you. I do not intend to keep secrets in such a dangerous situation."

"My thanks."

Aura Midgardia, the High Priestess, sighed.

"Tell me," She inquired, "Do you know the Gundams?"

"The...Gundams?"

"The Gundam Frames were supposedly the most powerful weapon in the world...At least, the old world. Their power...It too, came from Dragonium. I trust that you know of the Ragna-Mails?"

"What of them, High Priestess?"

"There was once an experiment. A bridge between Gundam and Ragna-Mail. And it worked. Legends recovered from the old world told word of the Gundam Ragna. However, we found it."

"What?"

Aura Midgaurdia looked around, as if to make sure they were alone.

"My predecessor was the one who was part in the discovery. Our very own Anita was the one who laid first sight upon the machine, and discovered something within the confounds of its cockpit. Anita discovered a human infant."

"...You mean to tell me...?"

"Yes," Confirmed Aura Midguardia, "Through some inexplicable miracle, Leo was brought to us in the Gundam Ragna. After all this time, we've all done our best to accept him as our own. But now...I fear that Leo must decide for himself where his loyalties lie."

Salamandinay was simply at a loss for words.

It was too much to take in.

Her childhood companion, her special someone...Wasn't one of their kind?

This shouldn't have phased Salamandinay, she should've figured this out on her own...And yet, the revelation was simply shattering her little world. How could she have been so blind? She and Leo were completely different.

It was so embarrassingly obvious that Leo was just a normal human...So why did Salamandinay feel so shocked?

Was she really so stupid and blind?

"I'm sorry," Apologized Aura Midguardia, "I must have greatly confused you with all of this."

"My conflict matters not." Affirmed Salamandinay, "I will bring him home."

"For all our sakes, we place our faith that you will succeed."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

* * *

Poe yawned, finally waking up.

He slept all the way to noon.

"Hello! Hello!" Haro chimed.

"Mm." Grunted Poe, yawning and stretching.

Haro rolled over to a charging dock, and plugged itself in. Poe realized he was still in his pilot suit, and changed back into his normal attire. Poe sighed as he felt more comfortable, since his coveralls were far more loose around his special parts.

As soon as Poe finally relaxed, he turned over to look at a curtained off area of his workshop.

"Not even Jill knows..." Poe muttered, walking over and glancing what lied beyond the curtain.

"You are gonna be so beautiful...Just need a few more things..."

Poe sighed, closing the curtain and trotting out of the workshop, locking the door as he left.

He was off to go and repair First Squadron's Para-Mails.

Poe was solitary in his work, and was able to repair entire Para-Mails on his own. He infuriated other engineers and repair teams as he could fix a heavily-damaged Para-Mail on his own in record time.

Granted, he only held the record by a second, but the result was the same.

The only one of First Squadron's machines that needed any real work was Zola's Arquebus. The entire arm had been shaved clean off by whatever beam weapon the mysterious Gundam Frame fired.

Potentially, the weapon was made with Minovsky Particle-Theory, but such research was not shared at Arzenal.

Mankind wouldn't want its precious Norma population to have equal footing, after all.

Sure, the technology at Arzenal was impressive, when in its own perspective. However, the military technology employed by every nation in the outside world was simply superior. They gave Norma only just enough to get by, tactically choking their fighting strength if Norma were to rebel.

A cheap yet effective method indeed.

Kara had never revealed her secret to how she was able to have a child, the world's first male Norma, no less. It was confirmed she'd managed to escape Arzenal somehow, with a Para-Mail, but her secret was never revealed, not even to Poe.

All people could find was that it involved her Para-Mail.

Though Poe had done maintenance on the machine many times, Kara had scrubbed any evidence of her escape long before Poe had inherited the machine. Kara's secret escape method died was taken to the grave with her.

Poe began working on scrubbing off the scorch marks on Zola's Arquebus. The funds withdrawn from Zola's account had already paid for a replacement arm, it would be up to Zola to customize it, saving Poe the brunt of the work.

Poe sighed.

He never forgot the night Zola came down upon him.

* * *

_4 Years ago..._

Poe was 15 at the time.

He arrived at Arzenal only recently, and had been on edge due to the attention he was receiving from all the Norma. Those that realized he was a boy eyed him lecherously. There a great deal of Norma that didn't even know what a boy was, and saw him as a strange-looking girl.

At first, he denied his identity as a Norma.

"It's not possible!" He cried, "There have only been Norma girls!"

As much as he denied the fact, they'd put him through several tests, all of which involved him touching the Light of Mana. Each and every time, it resulted in him erasing the Light of Mana, much to his dismay.

Jill gave him his own room, isolating him to prevent an incident between him and anyone else.

For the most part, it worked.

Poe had been given a little money to support himself until his job at Arzenal was decided. Originally, he was employed as an engineer, and was often being trained by Zhao Mei at the start of his career.

Jill had reasoned that Poe wasn't a good fighter, being one who'd been raised in a human society all of his life. She judged him harshly, resorting to everything short of bodily harm just to make the frightened boy speak.

Jasmine was one of the few who treated Poe with some semblance of dignity. One of her first nice acts to Poe were giving him a charging station for Haro at a great discount, with great reluctance.

Emma was simply baffled, and was forced to cope with the fact that Poe was indeed a Norma, or at least born from one. At first, she denied the very notion, and claimed Poe was wrongly sent to Arzenal. But upon finally seeing the truth, she began to treat him like the other Norma.

Poe was usually quiet, terrified that, were he to dare utter one wrong word, the Norma would gut him like a fish and defile his corpse.

That is, of course, until Poe had his first run-in with the First Squadron of Death.

Zhao Mei had sent Poe to be the first up to begin maintenance on First Squadron's Para-Mails as they returned. Poe did as he was told, and glimpsed Zola for the first time. Jill knew about Zola's habit of being attracted to sexually breaking new recruits, and deemed Poe as one of them.

However, the situation was able to separate Poe and Zola before she advanced on him.

Unfortunately, later that day, Poe happened to run into First Squadron as he was getting dinner.

Salia did her best to keep Zola in check as the rest of the squad managed to get Poe to sit with them. Rosalie and Hilda gave Poe sensual faces alongside Zola, with Salia scolding them. Vivian acted as though she and Poe were the best of friends. Chris eventually worked up the courage to greet Poe, her voice trembling. Ersha welcomed Poe as though he was one of her own kin.

Poe was most distracted by the sheer size of Ersha's bust, and nearly caused a very awkward moment at the table.

Zola, the entire time, gave Poe naughty looks.

Poe stayed in his room with the door locked, very nervous of Zola the rest of the day and night.

As time went on, Poe ran into First Squadron more and more.

Zola, Rosalie, Chris, and Hilda usually grouped up on Poe and cornered, hoping to get some sort of kick from playfully bullying Poe a little. Jasmine offered to take bribes for handling the Norma for Poe, but he was unable to make the price that Jasmine set.

Vivian and Ersha were nice to Poe, offering him friendship in a non-sensual manner.

Things were beginning to get better for Poe as time went on.

Until things didn't.

One night, Poe was walking back to his room after wrapping up maintenance work with Zhao Mei. For what seemed like the first time in forever, Poe felt calm and positive, despite being marooned at Arzenal.

He was walking down the halls of the dorm area...

...Only to suddenly have Zola come out of nowhere and pin him to the wall, her chest intentionally in his face.

Zola was a lot stronger than Poe, there wasn't a way out.

Her breath reeked with alcohol, she was very off-balance, and giggling.

"Aight, boy." She slurred, "Yer comin' with me, an' we're havin' a hot night n' my room!"

She dragged Poe all the way back to her dorm room, much against his will. However, Poe remembered that he was in Arzenal, where nobody was going to lift a finger to offer him help unless he paid them.

He was so done for.

Zola ushered the boy into her own dorm room, and pushed him onto the bed, locking the door quickly. Soon after, she pinned him to the bed by grabbing his wrists, and pressing up against him.

She could feel he was getting an erection.

"Always wanted to go all the way..." She mumbled, grinning lecherously.

She proceeded to rip off his clothes, and forcibly strip him to nothing but his footwear. Her weight kept Poe trapped between her and the bed. After tearing off Poe's coveralls, Zola grinned as she began to strip her own clothes off.

"Get with it already~!" Zola chuckled.

Poe was simply too in shock to respond.

Zola seized the moment.

As soon as she took off the rest of her clothing, she leaned in and proceeded to make out with Poe. Poe tried to struggle, but found himself helpless against Zola's aggressive advance on him.

They were both naked.

"Sit right there...I'm gonna get you ready~!"

Zola kissed down Poe's torso, suckling his left pectoral as she went.

Poe was panting heavily, utterly paralyzed by fear.

Soon enough, Zola had reached his erect rod.

"Come to mommy~!" Zola snickered, her head mere inches away from his cock.

Zola's lips wrapped around the tip of Poe's hard penis. Poe squirmed and cried out as he felt something warm and wet tickle around a very sensitive part of his body. And yet, as much as he wanted her to stop, Zola had just opened up a whole new sensation Poe had never felt before.

Zola made a muffled chuckle as she watched Poe react in such an adorable manner, and began to push Poe's cock deeper and deeper, savoring the taste and texture of his raging hard. She could feel the slab of meat begin to fill her mouth, it was bigger than she expected.

With a little more effort than anticipated, Zola had swallowed Poe's erection to the base. She was slow, partly out of lack of technique and partly to tease Poe until he lost his mind with the pleasure.

"P-Please..." Poe weakly pleaded, "S-Stop..."

Zola began to lick Poe's cock to the best of her ability. This sent Poe even further over the edge, causing him to gasp and moan. It was already too much for Poe to bear, since it was his first time.

He almost came right then.

Zola slowly began to lift her head, and licked his cock all over as she went up. Poe's rod slipped out of her mouth with a pop, and stood up on its own. Poe shivered, his penis felt cold, as Zola's saliva chilled the air around it.

Zola giggled, and began to stand up.

Poe didn't expect what she was doing next.

Rather than releasing Poe, Zola was on all fours as she towered over Poe. She made sure Poe was unable to escape as she began to lower her pelvic region closer to Poe's, giving a rather unsettling grin as she watched her lower torso.

Poe finally understood Zola's intentions as his cock was nearing her cunt.

"W-Wait! No! Stop!" Poe cried, knowing full well Zola wasn't going to obey.

Poe's cock was pressing against the entrance to Zola's clit. Poe could feel she was wet with eagerly awaiting anticipation.

"Aw shaddup!" Laughed Zola, "You'll feel better n' a few seconds!"

Zola began to lower herself on Poe, and his erection penetrated her pussy.

"Oh! Ah!" Zola gasped as she took in more and more.

Her hymen was broken during combat with DRAGONs years ago, but the size of Poe's cock was still foreign to her cunt. She was a virgin up until that moment, and always dreamed of her chance to have such intercourse.

The sheer euphoria Zola was experiencing was more than enough to make her forget the hopelessness of her life as a Norma.

Poe began to howl as he could feel Zola tightening around his penis.

Zola's legs trembled as she finally lowered herself to the base.

"Oh...Yeah..." Zola hissed.

Zola began to lift herself up and down, sliding along Poe's cock slowly, building up rhythm. She gradually got faster and faster, adjusting to the experience with each and every thrust.

Poe clenched.

Zola sucking his cock was nothing compared to her riding it.

The young boy was losing his mind, it was all too much for Poe to handle, and he was ready to explode at any moment.

"Mm...Fuck..." Zola moaned.

After what seemed like ages for the pair, Poe was at his maximum threshold.

"Nngh!" Zola could feel Poe's cock clench inside of her pussy.

"Aaagh!" Poe cried.

Suddenly, Poe balled his fists, and shut his eyes tightly. His cock exploded, and began to twitch and throb as he started to cum. Zola felt a hot fluid begin to enter her cunt as she moaned louder than before. The strange new experience was too much to bear, causing Zola to orgasm right after Poe.

Their fluids mingled together, Zola fell forward, and kissed Poe on the lips.

Poe's first orgasm had left him in a haze of ecstasy.

When Poe recovered from his first time the next day, he began to break down and cry.

Zola had a hangover in the morning.

First Squadron found the two in bed together, and manage to persuade Poe into telling them what'd happened.

Ersha and Vivian gave Poe a hug. Jill didn't seem to actually care. Jasmine gave Poe a pat on the back. Hilda and Rosalie were upset that Poe wasn't happy that he had sex with Zola.

Poe ended up crying in his own room for a while.

A day or so later, Zola did the unexpected, and attempted to reconcile with Poe.

She tried to apologize, and even gave Poe a huge amount of her own savings to try and mend things with Poe. Poe avoided her, the damage was already dealt too heavily to be healed.

And for the next 4 years, Poe had a very strange relationship with Zola.

* * *

Poe had finished overseeing the new arm being attached to Zola's Arquebus.

And thus, his work was over.

Poe sighed, unable to think of what to do next.

"Thought I might find you here." An all-too-familiar voice piped up.

Poe turned, and laid eyes upon Zola walking up to him, with an eyepatch.

They were alone.

Poe would've made a preemptive move, but Zola was a step ahead of him.

"Poe," Zola said, with a sober face, "I know this won't change anything...And I've said it one too many times...But, I'm sorry. What I did was wrong, and I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince you otherwise."

Poe was silent.

"Even if what I say doesn't matter," Zola continued, "Even if you don't care, I just want you to know that before something happens to me. I know it's unacceptable to do to anyone...Even if I keep doing it."

Before Poe could react, Zola pulled him into a hug.

It was strange.

The last time Poe had gotten a hug was after that night with Zola.

"I don't even know why I'm doing this...We're Norma. It doesn't matter if we make up and hug it out...We're all gonna burn in this hell-hole."

Poe was simply dumbstruck.

Zola had been trying to apologize to him for 4 years, and he threw it right in her face. This last mission...She would've died in a mere second if she didn't move fast enough. It finally dawned Poe that the Norma were very mortal, a lesson that had been beat into him again and again.

Poe understood why Zola raped him.

She knew this fact, and knew it well. What she did to Poe was symptomatic of such: It was her coping mechanism to bide her time. Life was short, and life at Arzenal could prove even shorter.

Zola had just been faced with her own mortality.

Being so close to death had reminded her of her own guilt. At the end of the day, she really did care about others, despite what Poe had brought himself to believe. It was just the starting point, but Zola was finally beginning to mend her ways with Poe.

Zola walked off, leaving Poe to himself.

Had Poe truly and completely forgiven Zola? Certainly not.

But was he starting to? After 4 years, yes.

Poe wouldn't be like this forever.

Life was short, and life at Arzenal proved to be even shorter.

* * *

**A/N: Done! I was pretty on the fence about what I would do for this chapter, but thankfully I was able to figure it out in the end! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, there's more to come!**

**Regarding Melody, I've been working with kitbashes to finalize the Melody Gundam 1st Form.**

**1st Form is a kitbash of: Gundam Barbatos Lupus Head, Gundam Barbatos 5th Form Legs, Gundam Barbatos 2nd Form Arms (Minus Gauntlet), Gundam Barbatos Lupus Torso, Blitz Gundam Backpack.**

**Melody Gundam 1st Form is armed with a Beam Magnum, A Vulcan Rifle (Zaku Rifle), a Sword Mace, and an Anti-Beam Blade.**

**All weaponry equipped by Melody is assumed to be part of its original ****weaponry, as it was recovered alongside Melody by the People of Aura. Melody has shown signs of autonomous functions, but is not considered sentient.**

**Melody is confirmed to be one of the World of Mana's 28 long-lost Gundam Frames, but how it came into the possession of the People of Aura, or where Leo came from, has yet to be determined.**

**I hope you enjoy what's in store for Leo and Melody, their adventure has only just begun.**

**Leo is indeed affiliated with the People of Aura, but his military service is not considered to be official currently.**

**Next Time: Heaven and Hell.**

**Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!**


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